,,,,»,««***"•*«'«' *«.^ 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


% 


Shelf  ^ 


BV  3705  .S36  A33  1887 
Schauf f ler ,  William 

Gottlieb,  1798-1883. 
Autobiography  of  William  G 


/ 


^^iif 


AUTOBIOGRAPHY 


WILLIaM  G.  Schauffler, 


FOR    FORTY-NINE    YEARS    A    MISSIONARY    IN    THE  ( 

ORIENT.  j 


EDITED    BY    HIS    SONS. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION 

BY 
PROFESSOR    E.    A.    PARK,    D.D.,  LL.D. 


NEW  YORK: 
ANSON    D.    F.    RANDOLPH    &    COMPANY, 

38  WEST  TWENTY-THIRD  STREET. 


copyright,  1887,  by 
Anson  D.  F.  Randolph  &  Company. 


EDWARD  o.  Jenkins'  sons, 

Printers  and  Stereotypers^ 

so  North  William  St.,  New  York. 


CONTENTS 


PAGB 

Prefatory, vii 

Introduction,  Prof.  Edwards  A.  Park,  D.D.,  LL.D.    ix 

CHAPTER  I. 
Parentage  and  Early  Life — Removal  to  Russia,    .      i 

CHAPTER  n. 

Conversion  — Religious  Progress  in  Russia  —  New- 
Plans,      II 

CHAPTER  HI. 

Decides  to  become  a  Missionary  — Leaving  Home — 
Departure  for  America, 21 

CHAPTER   IV. 
The  Voyage— Life  at  Andover 34 

CHAPTER  V. 
Last  Days  at  Andover— Life  in  Paris,       ...    52 

CHAPTER  VL 

From  Stuttgart  to  Odessa  —  From  Odessa  to  Con- 
stantinople, .        .       , 63 

CHAPTER  VIL 

Visit  to  Smyrna  — Marriage  — Tour  through  Rou- 
MELIA, ^(> 

(iii) 


IV  Contents. 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

PAGB 

A  Summer  in  San  Stefano  — Beginning  of  Active 
Work — Going  to  Odessa, 89 

CHAPTER   IX. 
The   Work    of    the    Spirit    in    Odessa  —  Passing 

THROUGH   the  WaTERS, 96 

CHAPTER  X. 

Return  to  Constantinople— A  New  Home — Threat- 
ened Danger, 107 

CHAPTER  XI. 
The  Plague, 114 

CHAPTER  XII. 

A  Lonely  Journey— Translation  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment  124 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
Persecution— Going  to  Germany, 130 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Odessa  again— A  Missionary  Tour— Printing  begun,  138 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Residence  in  Gumpendorf — New  Converts,        .       .  144 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Another   Convert,— Maria    Dorothea  —  Going    to 
Stuttgart i49 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Farewells— Return  to  Vienna i57 


Contents.  v 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 


PAGE 


Persecution— The  Work  of  Translation  completed,  i66 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Reception   of  the  Translation  —  Persecution  of 
THE  Armenians— Relief, 176 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Scotch  Mission  Established — More  Missionaries  — 
Jewish  Work  Abandoned, 192 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

A  Visit  to  Paris,  and  its  Results— Beginning  the 
Turkish  Work, 205 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

A  Visit  to  America,  and  its  Results  —  Close  of  a 
Useful  Life, 221 

APPENDIX. 
An  Episode  of  Missionary  Life, 247 

Index, 255 


PREFATORY. 


The  autobiography  herewith  presented  to  the  public 
was  written  by  its  author  solely  for  the  benefit  of  his 
children,  and  with  no  idea  that  it  would  ever  be  put 
into  print.  Indeed,  so  strong  was  his  feeling  on  this 
subject,  that  it  was  with  considerable  reluctance  that 
his  sons  yielded  to  the  solicitation  of  many  of  their  fa- 
ther's friends  to  make  public  this  story  of  his  life. 

With  some  omissions  and  verbal  alterations,  the  narra- 
tive is  published  just  as  it  was  written  for  the  home 
circle,  and  herein,  perhaps,  lies  one  of  its  chief  attrac- 
tions for  those  who  knew  the  author.  That  it  should  be 
a  somewhat  disjointed  narrative  is  a  matter  of  course, 
in  view  of  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was  written, 
(often  lying  for  months  untouched,)  and  the  necessity  of 
cutting  it  down  to  its  present  dimensions.  A  few  ex- 
tracts from  letters  published  in  the  Missionary  Herald^ 
some  fifty  years  ago,  are  added  to  the  autobiography. 

It  will  be  conceded  by  every  thoughtful  person  that 
the  youth  of  this  generation  need  the  stimulus  of  con- 
tact with  the  lives  of  those  strong,  self-made  men  who, 
in  so  many  walks  of  life,  adorned  the  earlier  years  of 
this  century.  When  to  personal  independence  of  thought 
and  action,  and  to  mature  scholarship,  are  added  child- 
like trust  in  God,  and  whole-souled  consecration  to 
His  service,  the  example  grows  still  more  worthy  of  im- 
itation. 

(vil) 


viii  Prefatory. 

If,  by  reading  these  pages,  one  student  is  inspired 

to  new  hope  and  effort,  in  view  of  what  is  here  shown 

to  have  been  accomplished  under  unusual  difficulties ; 

if  the  faith  of  one  weak  child  of  God  is  strengthened, 

or  one  half-hearted  disciple  is  drawn  toward  a  fuller 

self-surrender  ;  then,  indeed,  will  this   simple  life-story 

not  have  been  written  in  vain,  nor  could  the  beloved 

author  be  otherwise  than  grateful  that  the  record  of  his 

journey  should  help  other  pilgrims  on  their  heavenward 

way. 

E.  W.  S. 


INTRODUCTION. 

BY   PROF.  EDWARDS  A.   PARK,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


"  All  that  is  important  and  interesting  in  ^z/r  history 
may  be  called  the  work  of  God ;  and  all  our  own  doings 
are  unmingled  folly  and  sin.  But  we  cannot  now  sep- 
arate the  two  elements  accurately,  by  reason  of  our 
ignorance  and  the  pride  of  our  hearts.  Great  must  be 
the  blessedn- .^3  of  those  above,  who  are  able  to  view 
their  lives  purely  as  a  chain  of  divine  grace — as  a  series 
of  miracles  of  the  preserving  and  saving  power  of  God — 
where  the  history  of  all  the  saints  together  resolves  it- 
self into  the  boundless  ocean  of  absolute  wisdom,  good- 
ness, and  power.  But  this  panorama  cannot  be  viewed, 
except  from  Zion's  hill  above." 

These  are  the  words  in  which  Mr.  SchaufQer  began 
his  reply  to  a  request  that  he  would  record  some  events 
of  his  life  before  he  left  America  for  his  foreign  mis- 
sion. In  the  spirit  of  these  words  he  afterward  wrote 
his  autobiography,  and  in  the  same  spirit  it  is  now  given 
by  his  sons  to  the  public.  I  have  been  able  to  see  the 
proof-sheets  of  the  first  two  hundred  and  sixteen  pages 
of  the  following  Memoir ;  but,  as  I  have  not  seen  the 
entire  work,  I  shall  mainly  confine  my  present  remarks 
to  some  characteristics  of  Mr.  Schauffler  as  I  learned 
them  in  my  personal  intercourse  with  him,  and  in  his 

(ix) 


X  Introduction. 

early  correspondence  with  his  Andover  friends, — a  cor- 
respondence which,  although  unprinted,  has  been  pri- 
vately circulated  among  his  former  companions,  and  has 
had  a  quickening  influence  upon  them.  In  one  respect 
this  correspondence  belongs  to  his  Seminary  course,  and 
has  suggested  the  remark  that  if  he  had  accomplished 
nothing  more,  he  would  have  done  a  life's  work  in  his 
intercourse  with  young  candidates  for  the  ministry. 

The  first  impression  which  he  made  upon  the  stu- 
dents with  whom  he  began  to  associate  in  Andover, 
was  that  of  his  rare  humility.  Rev.  Dr.  John  W. 
Chickering  writes :  "■  My  personal  recollections  of  this 
remarkable  man  begin  with  some  of  his  answers  to  in- 
quiries in  a  social  meeting  of  the  students  soon  after 
his  arrival  on  Andover  Hill.  Being  asked  (as  all  new- 
comers were  expected  to  be  asked)  to  give  some  ac- 
count of  his  religious  experience,  etc.,  he  finally  summed 
up  his  answer  in  the  words  which  he  quoted  from  the 
English  divine,  thus  :  '  It  is  not  that  I  am  what  I  ought 
to  be  ;  it  is  not  that  I  am  what  I  wish  to  be ;  it  is  not 
that  I  am  what  I  hope  to  be ;  but  this  I  think  I  can 
say,  by  the  grace  of  God  I  am  not  what  I  was. '  Be- 
ing further  asked  why,  with  the  moderate  estimate 
which  his  humility  led  him  to  place  on  his  attainments, 
he  had  undertaken  to  prepare  himself  for  his  special 
missionary  work,  which  appeared  to  be  an  arduous  one, 
he  answered,  with  his  pleasing  German  accent:  '  If  the 
question  had  been.  Who  shall  go?  I  would  have  stayed 
in  my  shop,  and  worked  to  help  others  in  going  ;  but 
as  the  question  was,  Shall  I  go,  or  shall  nobody  go  ?    I 


Introduction.  xi 

thought  that  I  might  be  a  little  better  than  nobody, 
and  so  I  would  go.'  "  * 

In  these  and  other  confessions  of  comparative  igno- 
rance and  inferiority,  Mr.  Schauffler  was  honest  and  sin- 
cere, but  it  is  a  significant  fact  that  within  ten  years 
after  he  entered  the  theological  Seminary,  he  published 
in  the  ''  Biblical  Repository  and  Quarterly  Observer" 
an  essay  exhibiting  an  extent  of  learning  which  very 
few  American  scholars  in  that  day  had  acquired. f 

One  effect  of  his  humility  was  to  quicken  his  effort 
for  removing  his  ignorance.  The  lowly  man  '  digs  deep 
that  he  may  pile  high.'  He  was  wont  to  say  in  melan- 
choly tones,  '^  I  do  not  know  anything,"  and  he  evi- 
dently supposed  that  his  hearers  would  agree  with  him. 
He  contrasted  himself  as  a  mechanic  with  scores  of 
men  who  were  scholars.  We  cannot  fully  explain  the 
low  estimate  which  he  put  upon  himself,  unless  we 
consider  the  order  of  scholars  by  whom  he  was  sur- 
rounded in  his  Seminary  course. 

In  different  years  of  this  course,  he  was  intimate 
with  students  belonging  to  six  different  classes.  In  his 
own  class  were  men  afterward  well  known  as  Dr.  Will- 
iam Adams,  President  of  Union  Theological  Seminary; 
Dr.  George  B.  Cheever,  Dr.  B.  B.  Edwards,  Dr.  Leon- 
ard Woods,  junior.  Among  his  contemporaries  at  An- 
dover  were  men  afterward  known  as  Professors  Calvin 
E.  Stowe  and  George  Shepard  ;  Dr.  H.  G.  O.  Dwight, 
who  received  Mr.  Schauffler  as  a  room-mate  ;  Dr.  John 

*  Manuscript  letter  of  Dr.  Chickering. 
t  See  Bib.  Repos.,  vol.  viii.,  pp.  285-308. 


xii  Introduction. 

S.  C.  Abbot ;  Dr.  Nehemiah  Adams,  of  Boston  ;  the 
Presidents,  Benjamin  Labaree  and  William  A.  Stearns ; 
the  missionaries,  Dr.  Elias  Riggs,  Henry  Lyman,  and 
Samuel  Munson.  Among  the  Resident  Licentiates 
with  whom  he  was  connected  more  or  less  nearly,  were 
President  Barnas  Sears  and  Dr.  J.  Trumbull  Backus. 
The  six  classes  in  which  he  was  specially  interested 
contained  thirteen  men  who  afterward  became  profes- 
sors in  our  collegiate  or  theological  institutions ;  six 
who  became  presidents  of  colleges;  forty-two  who  be- 
came home  missionaries,  and  twenty-eight  who  became 
foreign  missionaries.  There  were  other  students  who, 
perhaps,  gave  equal  promise  of  usefulness  as  pastors, 
editors,  and  authors."^ 

Yet  among  all  those  who  appeared  to  be  candidates 
for  eminence  in  life,  there  was  no  one  who  on  the  whole 
made  a  deeper  or  better  impression  than  this  foreigner, 
self-made  as  he  was.  His  power  over  his  associates 
was  derived  mainly  from  his  religious  character.  His 
life  was  worship.  Body  and  soul  he  appeared  to  be  a 
morning  and  evening  sacrifice.  Most  aptly  does  he 
say :  ''  I  had  consecrated  myself  to  the  missionary, 
work,  and  my  consecration  was  intended  to  he  ^  a  whole 
burnt-offering,'  and  therefore  nothing  of  it  remained  to 
me  for  private  use."  f 

In  harmony  with  his  Christian  spirit  was  his  industry, 


*  The  preceding  computation  is  made  on  the  authority  of  the 
annual  catalogues  of  the  Seminary,  not  on  that  of  the  triennial. 
t  Autobiography,  p.  53. 


Introduction.  xiii 

and  this  was  a  kind  of  personal  magnetism.  He  gave 
an  example  of  that  iron  diligence  which  has  enabled 
his  German  countrymen  to  accumulate  their  stores  of 
learning.  At  midwinter  his  lamp  was  lighted  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  his  study  windows  were 
still  illumined  when  nearly  all  the  other  windows  in 
the  Seminary  were  darkened.  His  fellow-students 
blamed  him  for  devoting  fourteen  or  sixteen  hours  a 
day  to  study,  but  his  excess  was  a  fault  which  cured 
some  of  his  brethren  from  their  defect.  They  could 
but  give  their  approval  to  that  which  awakened  their 
admiration.  It  roused  them  to  do,  not  so  much  as  he 
did,  but  more  than  they  would  have  done  if  they  had 
not  been  stirred  by  his  example.  Whenever  he  moved 
out  of  his  study  chamber  he  walked  with  a  brisk  gait ; 
his  eyes  looked  right  onward,  turning  neither  to  the 
right  nor  the  left ;  he  gave  unmistakable  signs  of  his 
being  absorbed  in  what  he  had  just  read.  Therefore  it 
is  not  at  all  surprising  to  find,  in  a  journal  of  a  con- 
temporary student,  such  words  as  the  following :  ''  We 
have  some  remarkable  men  in  the  Seminary;  among 
others  a  Mr.  Schauffler,  who  has  had  much  experience 
in  revivals  of  religion  among  the  Germans  in  Wurtem- 
berg  and  near  Odessa  ;  was  once  connected  with  the 
celebrated  missionary,  Joseph  Wolff.  Mr.  Schauffler  is 
a  wonderful  linguist,"  etc.,  etc.,  etc.  Neither  is  it  sur- 
prising to  read,  in  the  newspapers  which  recorded  his 
death,  that  he  had  come  to  understand  twenty-six  lan- 
guages, and  was  able  to  preach  extempore  in  six  of  them. 
A  significant  fact  is,  that  in  two  years  after  he  arrived 
at  Andover,  he  rendered  important  aid  to  Prof.  Calvin 


xiv  Introduction. 

E.  Stowe  in  his  translation  of  **  Jahn's  History  of  the 
Hebrew  Commonwealth,"  and  to  President  Leonard 
Woods,  in  his  translation  of  "  Knapp's  Lectures  on 
Christian  Theology."  Before  Mr.  Schauffler  took  his 
leave  of  Andover,  he  rendered  important  aid  to  Prof. 
Edward  Robinson  in  making  out  the  catalogue  of  about 
ten  thousand  volumes  purchased  by  Dr.  Robinson  in 
Europe  for  the  library  of  the  institution. 

Another  kind  of  Mr.  Schauffler's  power  was  derived 
in  part  from  a  peculiar  fervidness  of  spirit  which  ex- 
pressed itself  in  an  effective  elocution.  I  cannot  ex- 
actly analyze  his  elocution,  but  have  often  felt  the 
influence  of  it.  I  heard  him  deliver  one  address  and 
preach  one  sermon,  both  of  which  made  an  unusual 
impression  upon  his  auditors ;  both  of  them  were  after- 
ward printed ;  but  a  stranger  who  did  not  hear  them 
would  not  imagine  that  they  had  been  remarkably  im- 
pressive. His  flashing  eye  was  not  printed  ;  his  pene- 
trating voice  was  not  set  up  in  leaden  types.  A  de- 
cided sensation  was  caused  by  his  sermon  on  the 
"  Right  Use  of  Property,"  but  as  it  appears  in  print,  it 
reminds  one  of  a  treatise  on  political  economy  rather 
than  an  outpouring  of  burning  eloquence.  Sometimes 
on  even  trivial  occasions,  his  words  had  an  unexpected 
force.  A  complaint  was  once  made  by  the  farmers  of 
Andover  that  their  apples  which  grew  by  the  wayside 
were  occasionally  abstracted  by  the  youthful  theolo- 
gians. A  meeting  of  the  students  was  called;  the  com- 
plaint was  heard,  but  as  all  the  abstracted  apples  were 
not  probably  worth  ten  cents,  the  complaint   was  re- 


Introduction.  xv 

ceived  with  apparent  indifference.  One  student  said 
that  the  abstracted  apples  were  few  in  number  and  poor 
in  quaUty ;  another  said  that  the  custom  in  New  Eng- 
land was  for  a  traveler  to  refresh  himself  by  two  or 
three  apples — growing  on  boughs  which  leaned  over 
the  wall.  Mr.  Schauffler  listened  to  these  apologies; 
they  appeared  strange  to  him ;  rising  from  his  seat,  he 
uttered  with  his  German  accent  the  following  sentence  : 
"  In  my  native  country,  if  a  traveler  takes  a  plum  from 
a  tree  by  the  wayside,  or  plucks  a  grape  from  a  vine 
growing  near  the  open  path  through  the  vineyard,  he  is 
liable  to  be — shot — dozvn  !  "  At  these  last  words  the 
apologizing  students  were  shot  down.  They  were  not 
shot  by  the  argument,  but  by  the  emphasis.  The  em- 
phasis gave  a  striking  illustration  of  a  rule  given  us  by 
our  instructor  in  elocution,  that  in  certain  cases  our  ut- 
terance should  be '^  explosive,"  and  have ''the  percus- 
sive force  of  fire-arms." 

Having  passed  his  youthful  days  sometimes  as  an 
artisan,  and  sometimes  as  a  revivalist  among  unlettered 
men,  Mr.  Schauffler  occasionally  surprised  his  Andover 
friends  by  his  love  of  general  literature  and  by  his 
rapid  advance  in  it.  He  often  manifested  an  uncom- 
mon tenderness  of  feeling  toward  the  poets,  and  even 
some  infidel  philosophers  of  his  native  land.  On  one 
occasion  he  addressed  one  of  the  ''Societies"  on  the 
"  Decline,  Revival,  and  Present  State  of  Evangelical 
Religion  in  Germany."  He  exhibited  the  sensitiveness 
of  his  religious  spirit  in  his  praise  of  Arndt,  Spener, 
Francke,  Tersteegen,  Gerhardt,  Albert  von  Haller,  John 
G.  Hamann,  and  Claudius.     He  quoted  a  remarkable 


XVI  Introduction. 

sentence  of  Tholuck  in  regard  to  the  last-named 
author :  "  After  the  Bible  I  love  Claudius  better  than 
any  other  book."  Mr.  Schauffler  was  by  no  means  in- 
sensible to  the  merits  of  Gellert,  but  criticised  him  in 
words  which  derived  a  memorable  significance  from  the 
manner  of  uttering  them.  ^'  Gellert,  the  father  of  mod- 
ern German  poetry,  whose  religious  hymns  are  yet  used 
and  admired,  once  tried  himself  in  novel-writing,  and 
composed  a  number  of  very  tedious  plays  for  the  moral 
improvement  of  the  German  stage.  He  wanted  '  to 
make  the  devil  pious,'  as  Luther  says,  but  did  not  suc- 
ceed. We  will  charitably  suppose  that  he  did  not  know 
what  he  was  doing."  The  meaning  which  Mr.  Schauffler 
imparted  to  the  above-cited  words  cannot  be  even  im- 
agined by  men  who  merely  peruse  them,  but  is  vividly 
remembered  by  men  who  listened  to  them.  As  the 
younger  Pitt,  reading  his  father's  speeches,  could  not 
divine  where  their  eloquence  lay,  so  the  printed  words 
of  Mr.  Schauffler  do  not  suggest  the  secret  of  his 
power.* 

There  was  a  collateral  source  of  Mr.  Schauffler's  influ- 
ence. Like  many  clergymen,  he  derived  power  from 
his  adventitious  accomplishments.  He  was  skilled  not 
only  as  an  artisan,  but  also  as  an  artist,  as  a  draughts- 


*  This  remark  is  applicable  to  several  of  his  printed  addresses— 
particularly  to  his  Report  on  the  "  Resources  of  the  Catholic 
Church  for  Carrying  on  Foreign  Missions,"  published  in  Memoirs 
of  American  Missionaries  formerly  connected  with  the  Society  of 
Inquiry,  etc.    Boston,  1833,  pp,  317-33?? 


Introduction.  xvii 

man,  especially  as  a  musician.*  His  flute  is  remem- 
bered as  almost  a  part  of  himself.  In  any  picture  of 
him  it  is  nearly  as  indispensable  as  the  organ  in  a  pic- 
ture of  Saint  Cecilia.  This  flute  had  a  kind  of  romantic 
interest,  because  it  was  one  of  his  own  manufacture ;  it 
was  more  highly  finished  than  any  flute  which  his  fel- 
low-students had  ever  seen,  and  his  mastery  over  it  was 
more  complete  than  they  had  ever  heard.  When  the 
Society  of  Inquiry  respecting  Missions  held  its  public 
meeting,  the  Seminary  chapel  was  often  crowded  by 
men,  women,  and  boys.  Some  came  to  hear  the  mis- 
sionary addresses ;  some  to  hear  the  choice  classical 
music  of  the  Lockhart  Society ;  some  came,  not  seldom 
from  adjoining  towns,  to  hear  the  noted  flute.  An  un- 
cultivated amateur  would  listen  to  the  harmonies  of 
the  choir  in  the  hope  of  being  regaled  by  the  melliflu- 
ous tones'  which  might  float  to  his  ear  from  the  mys- 
terious instrument  when  the  voices  of  the  singers  were 
suspended  for  a  few  seconds.  As  soon  as  the  hearer 
had  caught  a  dulcet  strain,  he  would  look  at  his  com- 
rade and  smile  at  his  success. 

Although  the  musical  genius  of  Mr.  Schauffler  was 
an  incidental  source  of  his  influence,  yet  he  was  an- 


*  His  musical  skill  prepared  him  for  scenes  which  he  did  hot 
contemplate  originally.  He  was  born  into  a  respectable,  but  not 
what  the  Germans  call  a  noble,  class  of  society.  By  degrees,  how- 
ever, the  nobler  families  were  attracted  to  him  as  a  musician.  By 
frequenting  their  society  he  was  preparing  himself  to  hold  easy  in- 
tercourse with  Government  officers,  and  with  royal  families.  Some 
illustrations  are  given  in  his  "  Autobiography,"  as,  for  example,  on 
pp.  152  sq.,  171  sq.,  178,  and  several  others. 


xviii  Introduction. 

noyed  by  the  flatteries  which  it  brought  him,  disturbed 
by  his  frequent  invitations  to  exhibit  it,  fearful  lest  the 
flute  so  well  loved  by  himself,  as  well  as  by  his  friends, 
would  steal  away  the  time  which  he  might  otherwise 
devote  to  hard  study.  Sometimes  he  would  lock  up 
the  instrument,  and  not  look  at  it  for  days  or  even 
weeks.  His  refusal  to  play  upon  it  was  an  occasion  of 
grief  to  his  fellow-students,  but  was  well  known  to  be 
an  act  of  his  conscientious  and  characteristic  self- 
denial.* 

In  connection  with  this  musical  instrument,  which 
has  become  so  conspicuous  in  Mr.  Schauffler's  history, 
and  in  regard  to  which  many  apocryphal  stories  have 
been  current,  his  musical  as  well  as  theological  compan- 
ion, Dr.  J.  W.  Chickering,  has  favored  me  with  the  fol- 
lowing record :  "  The  conscientious  readiness  of  our 
brother  to  acknowledge  a  fault  was  illustrated  one  day 
at  a  musical  rehearsal  of  the  Lockhart  Society,  where 
[Dr.]  John  A.  Albro  was  president,  and  Mr.  Schauffler 
*  flutist.*  The  *  flutist '  was  the  virtual  leader  of  the 
choir,  and  stood  at  the  front,  keeping  time  by  the  in- 
clinations of  his  body.  The  singers  were  guided  by  his 
flute ;  my  own  was  called  the  '  second,'  but  was  second 
to  his  longo  intervallo.  On  one  occasion,  we  were  re- 
hearsing a  very  difficult  piece  of  music,  and  the  singers 
had  failed  to  prepare  themselves  for  it.  Brother  Schauf- 
fler's delicate  ear  was  soon  pained  by  inharmonious  and 
untimely   sounds,   culminating   in    a  general   collapse. 


*  For  one  of  Mr.  Schauffler's  own  notices  of  his  flute,  see  "  Auto- 
biography," p.  43. 


Introduction.       .  xix 

Perhaps  this  last  stage  of  musical  demoralization  was 
not  reached  until  the  *  first  flute '  was  brought  down 
from  the  player's  lips  with  a  suddenness  and  force  un- 
mistakably suggestive.  When  order  was  restored  and 
the  baton  gave  the  signal  for  a  fresh  attempt  at  the 
music,  our  German  artist  interrupted  us  by  the  words : 
*  Mr.  President,  and  dear  Brethren,  I  wish  to  acknowl- 
edge before  you,  and  to  my  Lord,  my  great  sin  in  the 
unseemly  display  of  passion  which  you  have  just  wit- 
nessed.' "  Dr.  Chickering  adds  :  "  I  am  sure  that  the 
Lord  forgave  our  brother ;  and  I  trust  that  we  all  did, 
for  all  of  us  knew  the  strength  of  his  temptation  to  re- 
buke us."  * 

In  considering  the  sources  of  Mr.  Schauffler's  influ- 
ence over  his  fellow-students,  we  are  led  to  consider 
that  it  was  exerted  not  only  while  he  was  associated 
with  them,  but  also  after  he  was  separated  from  them  ; 
and  also,  that  it  was  exerted  prominently  in  favor  of 
Christian  self-denial,  of  hard  work  in  the  cause  of  for- 
eign missions.  The  missionary  spirit  had  never  been 
so  high  in  the  institution  as  it  was  while  he  was  a 
member  of  it ;  and  while  his  history  was  fresh  in  the 
memory  of  succeeding  classes  he  continued  to  be  a 
powerful  attraction  to  the  foreign  service.  The  unpub- 
lished journals  of  the  missionary  candidates  contain  the 
frequent  notices  :  "  Met  last  evening  for  prayer  in  Bro. 
Schauffler's  room."  A  sententious  record  in  the  Me- 
moir of   Henry  Lyman,  the   martyred  missionary,  is : 

♦  Manuscript  letter  of  Dr.  Chickering. 


XX  Introduction. 

*'  Thursday  evening,  October  ^th  [1830]. — Have  thought 
that  I  was  something,  and  that  I  wanted  to  do  some  ■ 
thing,  till  this  evening  :  visited  Brother  Schauffler,  and 
oh!  how  small  and  insignificant  did  I  appear  to  myself! 
How  little  love!  How  much  worldliness !  What  am 
I  ?  What  am  I  ?  "  ^  In  alluring  men  to  the  mission- 
ary service,  Mr.  Schauffler  did  not  dilate  upon  its  liter- 
ary privileges,  its  facilities  for  philological  study,  for 
acquaintance  with  oriental  systems  of  philosophy :  not 
upon  the  pleasure  to  be  derived  from  visits  to  the  Him- 
alayas, to  the  ruins  of  Karnak  and  Luxor,  to  the  Par- 
thenon and  Erectheum,  to  the  Academy  of  Plato  and 
the  Lyceum  of  Aristotle.  He  portrayed  the  missionary 
life  as  a  life  of  Christian  work  and  of  self-renunciation. 
Fifty  years  ago  there  was  less  temptation  than  there  is 
now  to  meditate  on  the  secular  or  literary  pleasures  of 
a  ministry  in  foreign  lands.  There  was  less  need  than 
there  is  now  to  examine  the  candidates  for  this  minis- 
try in  regard  to  their  views  of  Christian  doctrine  and 
duty.  With  Mr.  Schauffler  duty  was  pleasure  enough ; 
and  his  main  pleasure  was  in  toiling  for  the  salvation 
of  men.  His  love  to  Christ  was  his  love  to  the  sinners 
for  whom  Christ  died,  and  his  delight  in  laboring  for 
sinners  was  his  delight  in  the  character  of  their  Saviour. 
He  did  not  separate  what  God  and  the  nature  of  things 
had  joined  together.  In  a  remarkable  letter  from  Con- 
stantinople to  one  of  his  contemporaries  in  the  Andover 

*  The  Martyr  of  Sumatra  :  a  Memoir  of  Henry  Lyman.  New 
York  :  Robert  Carter  and  Brothers,  1856,  p.  104.  See  also  Mr. 
Schauffler's  letter  to  a  relative  of  Mr.  Lyman,  in  the  same  volume, 
pp.  221-224. 


Introduction.  xxi 

institution,  he  pleaded  for  the  missionary  cause  sub- 
stantially as  he  was  wont  to  plead  when  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  institution.  After  giving  a  circumstantial 
narrative  of  his  own  efforts  in  the  pulpit,  he  appends 
the  following  paragraph — a  paragraph  which  fifty  years 
ago  was  copied  and  recopied — for  awakening  his  Semi- 
nary friends  who  might  be  tempted  to  lead  an  otiose 
life.  It  was  in  the  spirit  of  it  a  continuation  of  his 
Seminary  influence : 

"  Amid  all  these  scenes  I  am  bodily  feeble  and  wearing  away- 
fast  ;  for  this  preaching  is  not  my  only  business.  On  the  con- 
trary, after  reviewing  and  printing  in  Hebrew  and  Hebrew- 
Spanish  the  Psalms  for  the  Jews  here,  I  have  begun  already 
and  carried  on  to  considerable  extent  the  revision  of  the  whole 
Old  Testament  in  that  dialect.  I  am  engaged  in  the  construc- 
tion of  a  Lexicon  in  Hebrew  and  Hebrew-Spanish,  which  is 
pretty  extensive  ;  and  of  a  vocabulary  in  the  same  languages  ;  a 
pure  Hebrew  Scripture  tract  has  left  the  press  very  lately ;  a 
Hebrew-German  tract  lies  ready  to  be  printed ;  the  Seventy 
Weeks  of  Daniel  are  in  process  of  translation  into  the  Hebrew- 
German  under  my  supervision  ;  while  the  writing  of  journals 
and  an  extensive  correspondence  fill  up  every  remainder  of  my 
time.  I  have  also  given  some  Hebrew  lessons  to  introduce  the 
study  of  Hebrew  among  the  Armenians.  Especially  my  corre- 
spondence with  the  Christians,  the  inquirers,  and  with  several 
whole  communities  of  South  Russia,  has,  since  my  return  from 
there,  greatly  accumulated  my  labors.  Besides  all  this,  troubles 
occasioned  by  accidents,  plagues  and  multiplied  calls  from  all 
quarters  (for  a  missionary  is  common  stock  here)  are  often  such 
a  draft  upon  our  time  that  hardly  leisure  for  eating,  reflection,  or 
rest  is  left,  and  scarcely  can  the  poor  human  frame  sustain  the 
insufferable  burden.  Take  an  instance;  after  the  severe  labors 
of  a  whole  week,  no  more  time  but  just  Saturday  evening  after 
tea  is  left  me  for  my  preparation  for  Sabbath,  and  hardly  any  at 
all  for  conference  meetings ;  and  yet,  sometimes  at  least,  I 
preach  in  German  at  nine  o'clock  a.m.  and  in  English  at  eleven 


xxii  Introduction. 


o'clock  A.M.     But  it  is  all  well  if  we  wear  out,  if  it  be  but  in  the 
Lord's  service.     If  souls  are  saved  and  the  kingdom  of  heaven 


built  up  in  this  ruined  world,  it  is  all  well." 


The  foregoing  remarks  prepare  us.  to  add  that  the 
characteristics  of  Mr.  Schauffler  excited  an  unusual  in- 
terest in  him  as  he  drew  near  to  the  time  of  his  depart- 
ure from  the  country.  Rev.  Elias  Cornelius,  D.D., 
soon  after  he  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  wrote 
from  Andover  the  following  letter  to  his  wife,  then  re- 
siding in  New  York  City :  "  Our  dear  and  precious 
friend  and  brother,  Mr.  SchaufHer,  has  bid  his  friends 
farewell  and  is  soon  to  embark  for  Europe  and  Asia  at 
New  York.  The  savor  of  his  influence  in  Andover  is 
like  goodly  ointment.  He  has  the  spirit  of  Brainerd, 
and  his  prayers  breathe  the  air  of  Heaven  itself.  I 
charged  him  to  go  direct  to  our  house  and  stay  there 
till  he  embarked.  He  took  our  Number  and  Street,  and 
promised  that  he  would.  I  wish  my  daughter  to  keep 
a  private  memorandum  of  his  most  striking  and  pious 
sayings  in  prayer  and  conversation.  I  wish  I  could  be 
at  home  to  hear  him."  Dr.  Cornelius  was  "deeply  af- 
fected" by  the  prayer  which  the  young  missionary 
offered  on  taking  his  leave  of  two  or  three  friends  in  a 
private  parlor  on  Andover  Hill.  "  It  was  a  prayer  of 
holy  tenderness  and  simplicity.  One  remark  I  shall 
never  forget,  '  We  ask  for  one  blessing,  and  only  one  : 
That  we  may  be  faithful  unto  death.'  "  The  emphasis 
given  to  those  three  words,  "  and  only  one!'  has  made  a 
life-long  impression  on  those  to  whom  the  emphasis 
was  familiar. 


Introduction.  xxiii 

The  interest  felt  in  Mr.  Schauffler  at  the  Seminary 
was  manifested  in  the  eagerness  of  the  students  to  hear 
him  preach.  He  delivered  more  discourses  in  the 
chapel  pulpit  than  were  ever  delivered  there  by  any 
student  either  before  or  since  his  day.  He  was  re- 
quested by  the  Professors  to  preach  a  valedictory  dis- 
course and  afterward  to  print  it.  He  dedicated  it  to 
his  "  many  and  endeared  friends  whom  he  was  soon  to 
leave."  In  a  published  notice  of  this  discourse,  Prof. 
B.  B.  Edwards  remarks  that  although  Mr.  Schauffler's 
mother-tongue  was  the  German,  he  yet  understands 
"that  universal  language  which  is  recognized  by  all 
Christian  hearts."  *  The  reviewer  then  quotes  the  fol- 
lowing passage,  explaining  more  exactly  than  a  biog- 
rapher can  explain,  the  fountain  of  spiritual  joy  that 
welled  up  through  all  the  troubles  of  Mr.  Schauffler's 
life,  and  imparted  to  him  a  freshness  of  spirit  amid  his 
complicated  labors : 

"  The  pious  man  has  meat  to  eat  which  the  world  knoweth 
not  of.  His  comforts  and  sufferings  are  dependent  upon  very 
different  circumstances  from  those  of  other  men.  They  flow 
from  another  world  than  this  which  he  sees  and  handles,  and 
upon  which  imperfection  and  dissolution  are  written  in  charac- 
ters large  enough  to  be  read  by  any  one.  He  is  like  to  the  high 
mountains,  whose  lower  parts  may  be  shrouded  in  gloom,  swept 
by  the  hail-storm  and  the  rain,  shaken  by  the  roaring  thunder 
and  terrified  by  one  continued  stream  of  fire  from  the  gathering 
cloud,  whilst  their  higher  peaks  and  plains  enjoy  the  most  per- 
fect peace  and  shine  with  undiminished  brightness,  capable  of 
being  darkened  only  when  the  king  of  day  himself  hides  his 
face.     He  is  like  the  deep  ocean,  whose  surface  may  be  rough- 

*  American  Quarterly  Register,  vol.  iv.,  p.  143. 


XXIV  Introduction. 

ened  and  torn  by  raging  hurricanes,  while  its  unexplored  depths 
remain  undisturbed  and  unmoved  as  they  were  on  the  morning 
of  creation.  He  is  like  that  little  plant,  which  indeed  grows 
with  many  of  her  sisters  out  of  the  same  humble  clod  ;  but  soon 
winding  itself  around  the  tall  cedar  or  the  strong  oak,  draws  out 
its  slender  root  from  the  ground,  derives  nourishment  from  a 
new  and  higher  source,  and  is  but  little  careful  in  the  year  of 
drought." 

Park  Street  Church  in  Boston  felt  the  same  interest 
which  was  felt  at  Andover  in  the  character  and  work  of 
Mr.  Schauffler.  From  Constantinople  he  wrote  to  a 
member  of  that  church :  "  Never  shall  I  forget  my 
home  [your  house]  in  Bowdoin  Place  ;  never  the  morn- 
ing and  evening  devotions  in  the  family  circle  there  ; 
never  the  early  prayer-meetings  in  Park  Street  vestry ; 
never  the  Saturday  evening  meetings  at  Mr.  [Judge] 
Hubbard's  house  ;  never  my  five  years  at  Andover ; 
never  our  last  scenes  and  the  hard  partings  and  farewells 
at  Andover  and  Boston.  But  no  matter,  '  Christ  is 
dearer  still  than  all.'  To  part  with  the  world  for  Christ 
is  hard  ;  to  part  with  Christians  for  Him  is  much  hard- 
er ;  but  neither  is  too  hard.     Pray  for  me." 

Some  of  his  friends  in  Park  Street  Church  had  re- 
lieved him  from  pecuniary  want,  had  enriched  his 
library,  replenished  his  wardrobe  so  as  to  promote  his 
health  and  comfort  during  his  Atlantic  voyage  and  his 
subsequent  journeyings.*    He  repaid  their  kindness  by 

*  Not  long  after  he  reached  Constantinople  it  was  reported 
that  he  had  distributed  to  persons  poorer  than  himself  many  of 
the  garments  made  for  his  own  protection.  It  was  his  maxim  : 
"  I  will  never  turn  away  a  beggar  if  I  can  help  it.  1  would 
rather  be  injured  by  an  impostor  than  harden  my  heart  against 


Introduction.  xxv 

preaching  to  them  a  characteristic  sermon  in  which  his 
benefactors  might  have  found  a  reprimand  if  they  had 
been  jealous  enough  to  look  for  one,  and  might  have 
found  solid  instruction  if  they  had  been  wise  enough 
to  search  for  it.  They  were  free  from  jealousy  and 
rich  in  wisdom.  They  were  delighted  with  the  sermon, 
requested  a  copy  for  the  press,  and  circulated  it  through 
a  community  not  so  wise  as  the  Park  Street  Church. 
The  printed  sermon  bears  the  title  :  "  Fastidious  Hear- 
ers of  the  Gospel  admonished."  It  was  primarily  de- 
signed for  *'  city  hearers,"  but  has  come  to  be  of  use  to 
"  country  hearers  "  as  well.  It  is  a  graphic  and  faithful 
reproof  of  all  pretended  worshipers  who  "  talk,  after 
divine  services,  of  the  fine  style,  the  select  expressions, 
the  beautiful  and  novel  illustrations,  the  rolling  or  mel- 
low voice,  the  agreeable  manners,  and  the  impressive 
and  solemn  looks  of  the  preacher,"  rather  than  on  the 
message  brought  by  him  from  God  ; — hearers  who  are 
not  satisfied  unless  "  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  is  blunted 
and  rests  under  the  soft  and  fragrant  and  dewy  flowers 
of  poetry  and  fine  writing.  But,  these  hearers  say, 
*  Surely  the  Gospel  cannot  be  preached  in  too  fine  and 
graceful  a  style.'  To  this  I  reply.  Yes,  it  can.  I  have 
heard  a  sermon  to  which  I  had  no  other  objection  ex- 
cept this  (and  a  mighty  one  it  was),  that  it  was  too 
beautifully  written  and  too  gracefully  delivered.  Every- 
body talked  about  the  beauties  of  the  sermon,  whilst 

the  cry  of  distress."  The  Park  Street  donors  were  consoled  by 
the  reflection  that  his  beneficence  in  bestowing  their  gifts  on 
others  gave  him  more  joy  than  he  would  have  received  from 
retaining  their  gifts  for  himself. 


xxvi  Introduction. 

the  important  subject  of  It  was  forgotten.  The  fault 
was,  that  the  proportion  of  beauty  to  truth  was  vastly 
too  great ;  the  effects  of  the  medicine  were  wholly 
prevented  by  the  immense  quantity  of  sugar  mixed 
with  it."  The  impression  produced  by  this  sermon  as 
orally  delivered,  was  deepened  by  the  preacher's  man- 
ner, although  he  was  inveighing  against  the  habit  of 
attending  to  the  fnanner  rather  than  the  matter  of  a 
discourse.  His  auditors  while  under  the  fire  of  his 
"  admonition  "  could  not  steel  their  sensibilities  against 
the  energetic  tones  in  which  he  repeated  his  text :  ''Our 
— soid^loatheth — this — light — bread''  (Numbers  xxi.  5). 
The  sermon  closes  with  the  following  rules  for  a  profit- 
able attendance  on  Divine  worship  and  the  proper  meth- 
od of  observing  the  Sabbath.  These  rules  are  inserted 
here  because  they  illustrate  more  clearly  than  a  bi- 
ographer can  explain,  the  author's  own  method  of 
treating  the  privileges  of  the  Lord's  Day,  and  because 
they  are  really  his  farewell  message  to  the  churches 
that  he  was  soon  to  leave : 

"(i.)  Cultivate  day  by  day  simplicity  of  heart  and  humility, 
and  a  proper  regard  for  the  precious  Word  of  God.  (2.)  Com- 
pose your  mind  on  Saturday  evening  or  night  for  the  solemn 
exercises  of  the  Holy  Sabbath.  (3.)  On  Sabbath  morning  rise 
early.  Let  secret  prayer  and  meditation  be  your  first  exercise. 
(4.)  Keep  in  a  still  and  uniform  frame  all  the  Sabbath.  Read 
little  except  the  Bible,  relish  and  digest  what  you  read.  But, 
(5.)  Take  care  that  this  is  all  done  in  a  sweet  and  easy  way ; 
make  no  toil  or  task  out  of  the  service  of  God.  Do  all  freely 
and  cheerfully,  without  violent  effort.  (6.)  Keep  your  heart 
with  all  diligence,  as  you  go  to  the  house  of  God ;  look  not 
hither  and  thither  unnecessarily,  lest  your  mind  be  distracted 
and  your  devotion  lost.    Much  less  look  about  in  the  sanctuary ; 


Introduction.  xxvii 

for  this  is  a  mark  of  disregard.  (7.)  Ask  either  at  home  or  in 
the  sanctuary  for  God's  blessing  upon  yourself,  the  preacher, 
and  all  the  hearers.  (8.)  When  you  retire  after  services,  re- 
member your  obligations  to  God  for  having  heard  His  word, 
and  your  responsibility  for  its  improvement.  Remember  the 
perishing  heathen,  and  ask  that  the  gospel  may  speedily  be 
preached  unto  every  creature.  (9.)  During  the  Sabbath,  re- 
frain from  remarks  of  any  kind  on  the  preaching ;  and  from 
censorious  remarks  refrain  always,  except  when  and  where  duty 
may  call  for  them.  (10.)  Digest  what  you  hear  and  do  it, 
which  will  be  the  best  preparation  for  the  next  Sabbath,  if  you 
should  live  to  see  it."  * 

During  a  "  Protracted  Meeting  *'  at  Andover,  in  a 
year  of  extensive  revivals  throughout  the  land,  Mr. 
SchaufHer  listened  to  a  deeply  affecting  sermon  on  the 
punishment  of  unrenewed  men.  The  preacher  dilated 
on  the  thought  that  this  punishment  will  be  the  result 
of  Divine  love,  and  repeated  such  words  as  ''  God  will 
punish  you  because  He  is  benevolent ";  *'  If  He  did 
not  love  His  creatures  He  would  not  condemn  you  "; 
**  You  will  be  cast  away  because  He  is  amiable,  because 
His  love  will  not  allow  Him  to  save  you."  Mr. 
Schaufifler  listened  to  the  discourse  with  a  devout 
spirit,  and  in  walking  homeward  preserved  a  profound 
silence,  but  at  last  exclaimed :  "  I  believe  that  God 
will  punish  the  wicked  because  He  is  just  Love  saves, 
justice  punishes."  This  is  the  only  criticism  I  ever 
heard  him  pronounce  on  a  sermon,  although  I  have 
seen  him  look  criticisms  which  he  did  not  speak. 

*  A  sermon  preached  at  Park  Street  Meeting-House,  Oct.  16, 
183 1,  by  William  G.  Schauffler,  A.M.  Boston  :  Press  of  Peirce 
&  Parker,  No.  9  Cornhill.     1831,  pp.  18,  19. 


xxviii  Introduction. 

The  question  has  been  asked  :  What  would  have  been 
the  influence  on  Mr.  Schauffler,  if,  instead  of  spending 
his  earlier  years  in  reading  novels  and  romances,  famil- 
iarizing himself  with  the  science,  and  especially  the  art, 
of  music,  gaining  the  skill  of  an  artisan  at  his  turner's 
lathe,  he  had  devoted  those  years  to  rhetoric,  logic, 
psychology,  etc.  ?  One  answer  has  been  :  '' He  would 
have  gained  new  compactness  and  comprehensiveness 
of  mind."  Another  has  been :  "  He  would  have  lost 
his  individuality,  and  thus  would  have  lost  his  charm." 
That  he  would  not  have  been  spoiled  by  these  studies, 
we  may  infer  from  his  constitutional  originality  both  of 
thought  and  feeling.  He  was  nothing  if  not  independ- 
ent.'^ Six  years  after  he  had  been  drilled  in  sacred 
rhetoric  at  the  Seminary,  he  uttered  some  characteristic 
words,  proving  that  no  human  prescriptions  could  press 
down  his  native  elasticity  or  damp  the  fervidness  of  his 
imagination.  In  a  preface  to  a  volume  of  his  Dis- 
courses, he  writes:  "As  to  form,  I  have  moved  un- 
shackled by  the  rules  of  pulpit  composition.  I  hate 
the  stiff,  undeviating  rules  of  all  the  rhetorical  schools 
in  the  world  alike.  They  are  so  many  mummeries,  each 
representing  the  great  writer  or  speaker  of  some  period 
or  other,  while  the  eloquence  of  prophets  and  apostles 

*  A  distinctive  specimen  of  his  independence  is  recorded  in  his 
"Autobiography,"  pp.  171-174.  It  is  suggestive  of  his  entire 
course  of  hfe.  It  reminds  one  of  Acts  xvi.  35-40.  We  may  here 
remark  incidentally  that  many  passages  in  his  narrative  bear  a 
striking  resemblance  to  the  narratives  in  the  book  of  Acts.  His 
style  becomes  apostolical  when  he  begins  to  describe  the  thrilling 
events  of  the  "  revivals  "  in  German  and  Russian  districts  :  see  for 
example,  pages  97  sg.,  139  sg. 


Introduction.  xxix 

soars  with  undying  energies,  and  with  ever  new  and 
varying  beauties,  hke  an  eagle  just  below  the  stars.'* 
The  accomplished  critic,  Prof.  B.  B.  Edwards,  in  notic- 
ing his  classmate's  volume,  remarks :  ''  Mr.  Schauffler 
writes  in  his  own  way,  but  that  way  leads  through 
pleasant  regions,  not  destitute  of  perfumes  and  flow- 
ers." * 

We  have  reserved  but  little  space  for  the  most  inter- 
esting of  Mr.  Schauffler's  characteristics.  These  are  his 
theological  opinions.  They  were  developed  in  his  Sem- 
inary addresses  and  conversation,  his  early  correspond- 
ence ;  and  some  of  them  are  stated  in  the  "  Discourses  " 
just  noticed.  They  were  valuable  because  they  were 
his  own — borrowed  from  no  uninspired  man.  They  did 
not  always  quadrate  with  what  he  facetiously  called 
**  the  American-shaped  mind."  f  He  regarded  this 
mind  as  too  much  disposed  to  "  reckon  "  and  to  "  cal- 
culate." He  was  positive  in  his  convictions,  and  ex- 
pressed them  in  a  positive  style.  He  had  found  in  his 
revivalistic  work  that  there  was  "  wisdom  in  daring," 
whenever  the  daring  was  sanctioned  by  the  prophets 
and  apostles. 

His  individuality  is  seen  in  his  views  of  the  Bible. 

*  American  Quarterly  Register,  vol.  ix.,  pp.  378,  379.  See 
Dr.  Schauffler's  Meditations  on  the  Last  Days  of  Christ,  ed. 
1837,  p.  vi. 

t  Some  have  supposed  that  Mr.  Schauffler  was  a  mere  ascetic, 
and  was  incapable  of  speaking  in  a  humorous  vein.  His  "  Autobi- 
ography "  gives  evidence  that  he  was  a  many-sided  man,  and  his 
habitual  gravity  was  not  of  that  kind  which  underlies  the  law  of 
gravitation. 


XXX  Introduction. 

He  had  a  firm  faith  not  only  in  the  perfect  accuracy  of 
its  direct  statements,  but  also  in  the  perfect  accuracy 
of  the  impression  made  by  its  indirect  statements,  by 
its  phrases,  which  may  be  in  themselves  indeterminate, 
but  are  so  related  to  the  circumstances  of  their  utter- 
ance as  to  impress  the  mind  in  favor  of  one  tenet  rather 
than  another.  This  is  exemplified  in  his  comments  on 
what  he  calls  "  the  translation  of  sin  " — a  phrase  not 
common  now,  but  not  uncommon  once — a  phrase  which, 
in  his  opinion,  is  justified  by  such  Scriptures  as  Leviti- 
cus iv.  22-24,  xvi.  21,  22 ;  by  the  act  of  the  sinner  lay- 
ing "his  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  sacrifice  which 
was  to  be  offered  in  his  place,"  and  the  act  of  the  high- 
priest  laying  the  sins  of  the  people  upon  the  scape-goat. 
Mr.  SchaufBer  often  repeated  the  saying :  ''  God  made 
Christ  a  sinner  for  us,  that  we  might  become  divinely 
righteous  in  Him  ";  or, ''  Christ  had  sins  which  He  called 
His  own  ;  they  were  ours,  now  they  are  His  ";  or,  "  He 
was  not  made  a  real  sinner,  but  a  legal  one,  according 
to  the  impression  made  by  the  Levitical  sacrifices." 
*'  The  very  words  which  the  Scriptures  use  on  those 
occasions  express  the  idea,  and  could  make  no  other 
impression  "  than  that  of  transferring  sin  from  the  men 
who  committed  it  to  the  being  who  was  their  substi- 
tute. "  The  whole  scheme  of  sacrifices  speaks  of  a 
transfer  of  sin,  an  exchange  of  places  before  the  bar  of 
God  in  favor  of  believing  sinners — and  what  the  sacri- 
fices shadowed  forth  becomes  a  reality  in  Christ.  Our 
sins  are  His  ;  His  righteousness  is  ours,  if  we  believe."  * 

*  See  Meditations  on  the  Last  Days  of  Christ,  etc,  etc.,  ed. 
i853»  pp.  78,  79. 


Introduction.  xxxi 

Dr.  Schauffler  regarded  this  explanation  of  the  sacri- 
fices as  confirmed  by  Psalms  xl.  12,  Ixix.  5  ;  2  Cor.  v. 
2 1 ;  Gal.  iii.  1 3  ;  Hebrews  iv.  1 5,  v.  7.  He  sympathized  on 
this  subject  with  many  bold  utterances  of  Martin  Lu- 
ther, but  he  was  mainly  influenced  by  what  he  regarded 
as  the  fitness  of  the  ancient  sacrifices  to  make  the  ini- 
pression  that  our  sins  were  transferred  to  Christ.  He 
believed  that  their  fitness  to  produce  this  impression  was 
an  inspired  fitJiess.  He  laid  prominent  emphasis  on 
this  behef.  It  accounts  in  some  degree  for  his  unique 
judgments  in  regard  to  some  Biblical  commentators. 
For  instance,  the  British  writer.  Rev.  William  Owen 
Allan,  in  eulogizing  the  oriental  scholarship  of  Professor 
John  Duncan,  says  :  '^  Schauffler  is  a  very  competent  wit- 
ness, both  from  his  own  immense  practical  attainments 
and  his  conversational  and  literary  use  of  these  [oriental] 
tongues,  and  from  his  personal  acquaintance  with  the 
German  masters.  I  have  heard  him  say  that  Gesenius 
was  not  to  be  compared  with  Dr.  Duncan  for  the  deep, 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  sacred  tongue."  ^     Professor 


*  Recollections  of  the  late  John  Duncan,  LL.D.,  by  the  Rev. 
A.  Moody  Stuart,  Edinburgh,  1872,  pp.  87,  88.  See  Dr.  Schauf- 
fler's  "Autobiography,"  pp.  177  sq.  Professor  Duncan  once  ut- 
tered an  apothegm,  graphically  reminding  us  of  his  friend  Schauf- 
fler. In  one  of  his  lectures  he  had  occasion  to  speak  of  our  Lord's 
exclamation  :  "  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me  ?  " 
He  became  absorbed  in  the  meaning  of  the  words,  left  his  desk, 
walked  to  and  fro  before  his  students,  "  when  suddenly  a  flash  went 
through  him  as  if  Heaven  had  opened  " — he  turned  his  face  to  his 
class,  and  being  wrapped  in  his  own  thought,  asked  :  "  Do  you 
know  what  it  was — dying  on  the  cross,  forsaken  by  His  Father  ? — 
do  you  know  what  it  was  }    What  ?    What  }    It  was  damnation — 


xxxii  Introduction. 

Duncan  was  a  prodigy  of  Hebrew  learning ;  but  Mr. 
Schauffler,  if  he  said  that  the  Scotch  professor  was  in- 
comparably superior  to  the  Halle  professor,  may  have 
had  reference  to  the  fact  that  sympathy  with  the  relig- 
ious spirit  of  the  Hebrew  writers  made  their  meaning 
clearer  than  it  could  be  made  without  this  sympathy ; 
qualified  a  critic  to  see  and  to  feel  the  impression  of 
their  words,  and  this  impression  reflected  light  upon 
the  sense  of  the  words.  A  critic  with  a  less  sensitive 
piety  may  see  the  meaning  of  alphabetical  letters,  and 
a  critic  with  a  more  sensitive  piety  may  hear  the  tones 
with  which  those  letters  are  enunciated ;  and  the  im- 
pression of  the  whole  sentence  may  depend  upon  the 
hearing  of  the  tones  more  than  upon  the  seeing  of  the 
letters.  We  may  not  always  account  for  the  impres- 
sion, but  the  devout  man  feels  what  the  philosophers 
cannot  explain,  and  his  feeUng  may  direct  him  to  the 
discovery  of  an  otherwise  hidden  meaning  of  Hebrew 
or  Greek  particles. 

Such  was  Mr.  Schauffler's  view  of  Biblical  inspira- 
tion, and  in  one  sense  it  comprehended  his  view  of 
Christ's  atonement.  In  the  substance  of  this  doctrine 
he  agreed  with  the  majority  of  orthodox  divines,  al- 
though he  differed  from  some  of  them  in  the  .form  of 
it.     He  studied  the  Bible  for  himself.     He  had  an  in- 


and  damnation  taken  loviiigly"  He  then  subsided  into  his  chair  ; 
and  while  the  tears  were  trickling  down  his  cheeks,  he  repeated  in 
a  low,  intense  voice,  that  broke  into  a  half  sob,  the  words  :  "  It  was 
damnation";  and  then,  with  a  half  smile,  the  words:  "and  he 
took  it  hvingly."  In  a  fuller  and  better  form,  this  incident  is  re- 
lated by  Mr.  Stuart  in  his  interesting  Recollections,  pp.  104,  105. 


Introduction.  xxxiii 

tense  faith  In  the  atonement  as  implying  the  following 
truths:  The  pain  endured  by  the  Redeemer  was  not  the 
pain  of  body  alone,  nor  of  natural  sensibility  alone,  but 
of  the  moral  sensibilities  also ;  it  was  pain  differing  in 
its  nature  as  well  as  degree  from  that  of  every  other 
man ;  the  Redeemer  bore  a  peculiar  kind  of  pain  in 
view  of  divine  justice  as  directed  against  transgressors, 
for  He  had  united  Himself  with  a  race  of  transgressors  ; 
He  bore  a  peculiar  kind  as  well  as  degree,  of  pain,  in 
view  of  the  punishment  threatened  to  ill-deserving 
men,  for  He  had  made  Himself  one  with  a  race  who 
merited  all  which  was  threatened  against  them ;  He 
endured  such  agonies  as  were  "equivalent"  to  those 
deserved  by  sinners ;  His  sacrificial  death  was  "  equiva- 
lent "  to  the  eternal  death  which  all  men  dying  impeni- 
tent would  suffer;  the  nature  as  well  as  the  intensity  of 
His  pains  was  so  mysterious  that  we  can  never  expect 
to  comprehend  it  in  this  world ;  He  came  to  the  earth 
in  order  to  die  on  the  cross ;  His  chief  mission  was  not 
to  become  incarnate,  but  He  became  incarnate  in  order 
to  accomplish  His  chief  mission  ;  His  main  design  was 
not  merely  to  suffer,  but  to  suffer  as  the  sacrifice  for 
our  sin ;  His  sacrificial  death  was  vicarious  in  such 
a  sense  that,  if  He  had  not  died,  we,  even  if  penitent, 
must  have  died  eternally  on  the  ground  of  our  past  sin, 
and  if  we  are  to  be  released  from  eternal  death,  we 
shall  be  released  not  on  the  ground  of  our  penitence, 
but  on  the  ground  of  His  sacrificial  death.  Dr.  Schauf- 
fler's  view  of  the  atonement  was  such  that  it  involved 
all  other  evangelical  doctrines  as  its  correlates.  With 
rare  boldness  he  insisted  on  the  entire  sinfulness  of  men 


xxxiv  Introduction. 

by  nature  (he  was  not  afraid  of  the  term  "  total  deprav- 
ity ") ;  on  the  radical  need  of  being  born  again  by  the 
special  (he  was  not  afraid  of  the  term  ''  miraculous  ") 
interposition  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  He  felt  the  enormity 
of  human  guilt  and  the  marvelousness  of  atoning  love. 
He  was  often  overwhelmed  with  gratitude  that  his  own 
sins  were  washed  away  in  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice,  and 
''  a  new  song  "  was  put  into  his  mouth.  We  can  easily  pic- 
ture him  as  repeating  the  words  of  his  aged  and  simple- 
hearted  friend  whose  enormous  mass  of  learning  had 
not  buried  up  the  native  poetry  of  his  spirit,  and  who 
said  at  the  communion-table  in  tones  of  deep  emotion : 
"  Methought  that  the  Lord  showed  me  a  heart  into 
which  He  had  put  a  new  song.  Where  the  heart  was, 
I  do  not  know ;  but  I  heard  it  singing  about  the  mid- 
dle of  its  song.  It  had  been  singing :  '  What  profit  is 
there  in  my  blood  when  I  go  down  to  the  pit?'  It  had 
been  singing  the  fifty-first  Psalm, — and  Jehovah  had  now 
put  a  new  song  into  its  mouth.  He  had  done  it ;  and 
the  heart  v^?is  trying  to  sing, — and  I  heard  it  in  the  mid- 
dle of  its  song.  It  had  been  reading  the  fifth  chapter 
of  Revelation,  and  trying  to  sing  some  of  its  numbers; 
and  now  it  was  at  these  words :  '  For  Thou  wast  slain,' 
— and  oh,  how  the  heart  was  sobbing  and  breaking! 
how  it  was  melting  with  a  joyous  grief  and  a  grievous 
joy !  Oh,  how  it  faltered  when  it  tried  to  sing,  '  and 
hast  redeemed  us  to  God  by  Thy  blood!  It  was  the 
song  of  one  to  whom  much  had  been  forgiven,  and  who 
therefore  loved  much  ;  but  it  was  the  song  of  the  chief 
of  sinners,  to  whom  most  had  been  forgiven,  and  who, 
therefore,  loved  most.     Yet  it  faltered  and  made  wrong 


Introduction.  xxxv 

music ;  it  jarred  and  there  was  discord  ;  and  it  grated 
on  its  own  ear  and  pained  it ;  and  God  ivas  listening  to 
the  song — God  who  knoweth  all  things.  But  the  song 
was  presented  to  Him  through  and  by  the  Mediator; 
and  if  there  was  discord,  it  was  removed  by  grace  in 
atoning  blood,  by  the  sweet  accents  of  intercession  ;  for 
it  came  up  as  music  in  Jehovah's  ear,  melody  to  the 
Lord.  It  was  not  discord  in  heaven.  I  would  know, 
O  God,  what  soul  that  is!  O  God,  let  that  soul  be 
mine  !  "* 

*  These  words  of  the  wonderful  John  Duncan  are  taken,  .but 
in  a  slightly  altered  form,  from  the  Recollections  of  the  late 
John  Duncan,  LL.D.y  Professor  of  Hebrew  and  Oriental  Lan- 
guages, New  College,  Edinburgh.     1872,  pp.  102,  103. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PARENTAGE  AND   EARLY  LIFE — REMOVAL  TO   RUSSIA. 

Constantinople,  Turkey,  August  22,  1858. 

I  HAVE  this  day  completed  my  sixtieth  year.  The 
day  has  been  a  true  day  of  rest  to  me.  It  is  the 
Sabbath,  but  I  have  been,  providentially,  free  from  pub- 
lic duties,  except  that  a  circle  of  neighbors  dropped  in 
this  evening,  to  join  us  in  the  reading  of  a  chapter  and 
in  praise  and  prayer. 

I  was  born  in  Stuttgart,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom 
of  Wiirtemberg  (then  a  duchy),  on  the  22d  day  of  Au- 
gust, 1798.  My  father  was  Philip  Frederick  Schaufifler. 
My  mother's  name  was  Caroline  Henrietta  Schuckart. 
Our  family  consisted  of  two  brothers  and  one  sister 
older  than  myself,  and  one  sister  younger. 

My  parents  were  not  at  all  wealthy ;  and  when,  in 
consequence  of  the  constant  wars  which  had  shaken 
Europe  ever  since  the  great  French  Revolution  of  1789, 
it  became  daily  more  difficult  for  my  father  to  support 
his  family  at  home,  he  resolved  to  remove  to  Russia, 
where  great  inducements  were  held  out  to  German  set- 
tlers. During  the  year  1804,  rather  late  in  the  season, 
he  and  his  family  left  their  country  with  a  body  of  emi- 
grants amounting  to  389  souls,  and  my  father  was  their 
guide,  appointed  by  the  government,  I  believe.  But  we 
did  not  reach  South  Russia  till  1805,  having  been  on 


2  Autobiography. 

the  road  for  nine  months.  My  parents  took  up  their 
abode  in  the  seaport  of  South  Russia,  Odessa,  which  was 
then  merely  a  large  village.  The  Duke  of  Richelieu, 
afterward  Premier  under  Louis  XVIII.  of  France,  who 
was  the  Governor  there,  not  unfrequently  visited  our 
house,  and  often  spoke  to  me  in  the  streets  as  he  passed 
by.     He  knew  German  well,  and  was  a  very  kind  man. 

My  father  was,  for  some  three  years,  Mayor  of  the 
German  population  of  Odessa,  and  of  a  German  village 
close  by.  As  there  was  absolutely  no  school  for  the 
German  children  of  Odessa,  he  induced  his  clerk  to 
teach  a  school,  the  room  occupied  by  my  father's  sheriff 
being  the  school-room.  I  was  between  seven  and  eight 
years  old  when  I  began  to  attend,  and  there  I  learned 
my  alphabet. 

I  never  learned  more  in  this  school  than  to  read  and 
write  German,  the  four  cardinal  rules  in  arithmetic,  and 
a  number  of  Scripture  passages,  together  with  the 
smaller  catechism  of  Luther.  To  fill  up  my  leisure 
hours,  I  engaged  in  drawing,  in  learning  music,  espe- 
cially the  flute  (almost  entirely  by  myself),  in  studying 
French  with  my  older  sister,  and  in  copying  poetry, 
reading  novels  and  travels,  and  cultivating  a  little  gar- 
den. Withal  very  much  of  my  time  ran  to  waste,  and 
I  formed  habits  of  idleness  which  I  deeply  regretted 
when  it  was  too  late. 

As  my  parents  were  not  pious  people,  I  enjoyed  no 
religious  advantages.  Such  as  the  German  settlers  in 
South  Russia  then  were,  my  father's  family  was  cer- 
tainly a  model  of  morality  and  of  outward  respect  for 
religion.   We  believed  in  the  Bible,  entertained  *'  ortho- 


Parentage  and  Early  Life.  3 

dox"  views,  read  prayers  in  the  mornings,  and,  some- 
times, during  seasons  of  heavy  thunder-storms;  and 
while  there  was  no  divine  service  in  Odessa,  a  sermon 
was  read  on  Sundays  after  dinner ;  and  when,  at  last 
— I  believe  about  the  year  181 1 — a  minister  came  to 
Odessa,  my  father  became  deacon,  and  proved,  I  be- 
lieve, about  the  most  efficient  and  faithful  officer  of 
the  church,  in  the  secular  duties  which  devolved  upon 
the  deacons.  He  held  that  office  until  his  death,  and 
I  hope  that  he  was  led  to  seek  Christ  during  his  last 
long  sickness  in  1817-18.  Of  conversion  to  Christ 
neither  my  parents  nor  our  minister  knew  anything, 
and  I  am  persuaded  that,  up  to  18 17,  there  was  not  a 
pious  person  in  all  the  city  or  in  the  country  round 
about. 

Here  I  must  insert  one  particular  relative  to  my  own 
inward  state.  After  my  parents  arrived  in  Odessa,  I 
had  a  serious  illness,  and  a  neighboring  German  woman 
told  me  to  my  face  that  I  should  die.  I  was  then 
seven  years  old.  I  had  always  been  a  retiring  child 
and  was  seldom  seen  playing  in  the  streets.  I  do  not 
remember  ever  to  have  had  a  moral  question  pass 
through  my  mind,  or  a  moral  conflict  arise  in  my  heart. 
I  knew  of  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of 
men;  the  Friend  of  children ;  that  our  salvation  some- 
how depended  upon  Him,  and  that  our  eternity  was 
in  His  hands ;  and  I  felt  confident  that  if  I  died.  He 
would  receive  me  and  make  me  happy.  But  I  recov- 
ered, and  my  consciousness  of  guilt  before  God  was 
soon  developed,  when  I  mingled  with  street  boys,  when 
I  quarreled  with  my  younger  sister,  or  disobeyed  my 


4  Autobiography. 

mother.  I  then  often  wished  I  had  died  of  that  dis- 
ease. But  I  told  no  one  of  these  thoughts,  though 
they  troubled  me  often.  Now  I  cannot  tell,  to  be  sure, 
what  my  moral  state  was  at  the  time  of  that  illness. 
But  it  seems  to  me  that,  morally,  I  was  quite  a  babe, 
undeveloped,  and  unconscious  of  indwelling  corruption, 
though  it  seems  strange  that  a  boy  of  seven  years 
should  have  no  practical  knowledge  of  sin.  Nor  is  it 
because  my  memory  was  not  active.  Indeed,  I  could 
always  with  perfect  ease  remember  my  life  back  to 
below  three  years,  and  I  think,  probably,  down  to  two 
years. 

Here  I  may  say,  once  for  all,  that  I  was  very  quick- 
tempered, full  of  fun,  fond  of  telling  a  good  story,  and 
chat  I  afterward  became  very  fond  of  dancing,  of  the 
theatre  and  the  billiard  table.  I  used  wine  and  strong 
drink,  as  all  around  me  did,  though  never  to  excess, 
and  no  one  would  have  suspected  that  there  was  ever 
a  serious  thought  in  my  mind.  I  had  a  great  respect 
for  the  Bible  as  the  word  of  God,  though  I  thought  it 
very  tedious  reading.  I  considered  Christ  the  Son  of 
God,  and  was  ready,  as  I  thought,  to  abide  by  His 
words  till  death  ;  considered  the  Ten  Commandments 
as  binding  upon  me,  led  a  moral  life,  as  the  world 
would  call  it,  and  regularly  went  to  divine  service  when 
there  was  any.  I  remember  when  about  the  age  of  ten 
years,  and  conscious  that  I  was  a  lost  sinner,  I  thought 
often  I  should  become  pious  when  of  age,  though  I  did 
not  know  what  piety  was,  any  more  than  a  heathen 
child.  I  may  have  been  about  twelve  years  old  when 
an  old-fashioned  German  translation  of  Bunyan's  "  Pil- 


Parentage  and  Early  Life.  5 

grim's  Progress  "  fell  into  my  hands,  which  I  read  with 
much  interest  as  a  story,  laughing  at  the  quaint  names, 
but  becoming  greatly  impressed  with  the  simple  idea  of 
leaving  all  behind  and  traveling  to  the  Heavenly  City, 
I  often  thought,  if  I  knew  in  which  direction  I  must 
leave  Odessa,  and  what  road  would  lead  me  to  the 
Upper  Jerusalem,  I  should  quit  all,  and  start  on  my 
journey  like  Christian.  I  was  often  secretly  perplexed 
when  I  remembered  the  words  of  Christ,  "  Enter  ye  in 
at  the  strait  gate,"  etc.,  as  I  knew  that  I  had  not  en- 
tered in  thereat,  nor  was  I  walking  in  the  narrow  path, 
for  men  in  general  were  as  good  as  I.  And  still,  if  / 
was  on  the  broad  way,  a  youth  of  acknowledged  blame- 
less morality,  where  were  the  people  of  the  narrow 
path  ?  I  thought  we  were  all  alike  essentially,  and  in- 
deed we  were,  for  there  was  no  piety  there.  I  often 
wished  I  had  never  been  born,  or  had  been  made  an 
animal.  Still  I  knew  God  was  right  and  I  was  wrong, 
and  had  no  right  to  complain  or  murmur. 

In  181 2,  while  Napoleon  and  his  army  were  freezing 
in  Russia,  the  plague  came  over  to  Odessa  from  Con- 
stantinople, and  made  dreadful  ravages  among  the  peo- 
ple. As  far  as  I  can  remember,  one  person  out  of 
every  seven  in  the  city  perished.  Thousands  fled. 
p>om  a  house  opposite  to  ours  twenty-five  people  were 
carried  out  dead  ;  but,  singularly  enough,  I  was  unusu- 
ally thoughtless  through  that  whole  plague  season. 

My  two  older  brothers  had  for  some  time  been  fol- 
lowing our  father's  trade— that  of  turner,  and  maker  of 
musical  instruments  in  wood.  The  plague,  with  the 
quarantine  into  which  the  city  was  put,  lasted  about  a 


6  Autobiography. 

year,  and  it  was  supposed  that,  when  the  communica- 
tion between  the  city  and  the  country,  and  Poland, 
should  be  restored,  nobody  would  dare  to  come  in. 
But  hardly  was  the  city  declared  free  from  its  isolation, 
when  foreigners  poured  in,  and  business  went  far  bet- 
ter than  ever.  I  was  then  soon  put  to  the  trade  also, 
and  helped  to  support  the  family.  My  two  brothers 
were  flute-players,  and  the  family  fond  of  singing.  I 
began  to  practice  this  instrument  when  I  was  ten  years 
old.  We  made  the  flutes  ourselves,  and  copied  music 
wherever  we  could  borrow  any,  for  there  was  neither 
book  nor  music  store  in  the  city  at  that  time.  We 
spent  most  of  our  leisure  hours  in  playing  flute  and 
guitar  duets  and  trios,  and,  being  the  best  flute-players 
in  the  city,  we  were  invited  into  circles  far  above  us  in 
social  standing.  The  practice  of  music  and  drawing 
(the  latter  I  was  especially  fond  of)  kept  us  at  home, 
and  prevented  our  mingling  with  low  company,  of 
which  at  that  time  there  was  the  more  temptation,  as 
the  Germans  in  and  about  the  city  were,  almost  with- 
out exception,  either  ignorant  and  uneducated,  or  loose 
and  unprincipled.  Mingling  with  the  higher  classes 
gave  us  an  opportunity  of  practicing  the  French  and 
Russian  languages,  besides  our  own,  to  which  I,  for  my 
part,  soon  added  the  Italian,  which  I  acquired  in  my 
few  leisure  hours  and  entirely  without  a  teacher.  I 
studied  Italian  simply  because  the  current  terms  in 
music  are  Italian,  and  it  appeared  to  me  stupid  to  learn 
them  piecemeal.  I  concluded  to  learn  the  wJiole,  that  I 
might  better  understand  the  parts. 

We  were  all  very  fond  of  reading,  but,  alas !  it  was 


Removal  to  Russia.  7 

nothing  but  novels  and  plays.  This  light  reading  gave 
us  a  kind  of  polish,  enabling  us  to  mingle  with  polite 
society  ;  but,  had  it  not  been  for  the  interposition  of  a 
gracious  Providence,  it  would  have  completed  and 
sealed  our  ruin.  I  was  the  first  who  became  tired  of 
this  sort  of  reading,  and  preferred  travels,  as  being 
more  useful ;  history  also,  as  far  as  I  could  obtain  ac- 
cess to  it. 

When  I  was  about  twenty  years  of  age,  I  thought  I 
had  tried  everything  to  satisfy  my  inward  cravings  for 
happiness,  and  had  found  it  all  vain  and  hollow. 

But  before  I  come  to  that  turning-point  of  my  life,  I 
must  go  back,  and  introduce  to  you  a  colony  of  travel- 
ers quite  peculiar  in  their  character — a  company  of  so- 
called  ^'  Separatists,"  from  my  native  country.  They 
supposed  themselves  to  be  the  woman  in  the  Apoca- 
lypse, "  clothed  with  the  sun,  and  the  moon  under  her 
feet."  They  were  fleeing  from  the  Antichrist,  now 
soon  to  be  revealed,  into  the  wilderness — t.  e.,  into  the 
Caucasian  provinces  of  Russia,  to  hide  under  the  wings 
of  the  Russian  Eagle,  which  they  considered  to  be  the 
two  wings  given  to  the  sun-clothed  woman. 

These  people  stopped  for  awhile  in  Odessa  and  in 
the  country  around,  and  I  became  acquainted  with 
some  of  them.  I  was  far  enough  from  adopting  their 
peculiar  ideas,  and  never  felt  in  the  slightest  degree 
satisfied  that  those  apocalyptic  reckonings  had  any 
solid  basis ;  but  the  idea  of  people  leaving  their  coun- 
try and  all  their  earthly  prospects  for  religion's  sake 
seemed  to  me  remarkable.  Although  but  twelve  years 
old,  I  looked  rather  thoughtfully  upon  these  people. 


8  Autobiography. 

They  were  the  first  I  had  ever  seen  who,  at  least  as  a 
body,  seemed  to  make  a  serious  business  of  religion.  I 
saw  very  much  among  them  that  was  objectionable  to 
my  mind.  Most  of  their  young  people  appeared  to  me 
as  careless  as  I  was  myself.  They  had  made  a  "  com- 
munity of  goods,"  and  their  leaders  were  accused  (and, 
I  fear,  justly)  of  administering  the  funds  unfairly.  But 
there  were  cases  among  them  of  such  depth  of  real  feel- 
ing, that  I  readily  acknowledged  their  claims  to  what  I 
had  not  myself,  though  I  did  not  know  where  the  dif- 
ference lay. 

These  colonists  went  off  to  the  Caucasus,  and  settled 
in  and  around  Tiflis,  where  their  descendants  still  exist. 
But  some  remained  behind,  and  among  them  a  person 
to  whom  I  must  refer  somewhat  more  at  length,  for 
her  influence  upon  my  mind  was  very  great. 

One  day  my  mother  came  home  from  a  neighboring 
house,  and  brought  with  her  Bogatzky's  "  Golden  Treas- 
ury." She  had  bought  the  book  from  a  blind  old 
woman  who  had  been  left  by  the  Separatists  when  they 
went  off.  Her  story  was  briefly  this.  Her  husband 
had  been  a  thrifty  shoemaker  in  Wiirtemberg.  They 
were  both  old,  and  had  no  children,  and  believing  in 
the  theory  peculiar  to  so  many  in  that  country  at  that 
time,  they  threw  their  all  into  the  treasury  of  this  col- 
ony. On  the  way  her  husband  died.  Their  property 
was  gone.  She  was  left,  although  about  eighty  years 
old,  blind,  in  a  strange  land,  without  friends  or  any 
means  of  living.  She  began  to  sell  her  few  religious 
books,  and  was  living  upon  the  avails.  My  mother 
bought   Bogatzky  and,   I    believe,   one   or   two   other 


Removal  to  Russia.  9 

books.  She  said  she  had  invited  the  poor  woman  to 
come  over  sometimes,  and  spend  a  day  with  us,  and  keep 
herself  warm  at  our  stove.  I  was  not  at  all  pleased 
with  this,  for  I  disrelished  the  society  of  a  beggar 
woman,  uneducated,  very  old,  blind,  and  dressed  in  the 
very  plain  garb  of  the  Suabian  country  folks.  But  she 
came,  and  took  her  place  behind  the  stove  in  our  com- 
mon sitting-room,  and  we  all  soon  learned  to  love,  and 
even  to  respect  her.  No  complaint  ever  escaped  her 
lips.  She  loved  music.  Our  duets  and  trios  with 
flutes  and  guitar  perfectly  enraptured  her,  and  at  the 
close  of  a  good  piece  of  music  she  would  exclaim  (quot- 
ing a  German  hymn),  "  If  Thou  dost  grant  so  much  on 
earth,  what  will  it  be  in  heaven  !  "  As  I  was  the  young- 
est of  the  family,  it  was  my  duty  to  lead  her  through 
the  streets.  She  seemed  to  form  a  somewhat  special 
attachment  for  me,  and  often  talked  to  me  as  though 
I  was  interested  in  spiritual  things ;  and  I  listened,  but 
could  not  understand  or  appreciate  her  remarks.  But 
to  finish  her  story.  Once,  on  the  evening  preceding 
Christmas,  my  mother  sent  me  over  to  the  family  with 
whom  Mrs.  Meyer  lived,  to  carry  her  a  few  small  pres- 
ents, and  to  invite  her  to  come  and  spend  Christmas 
with  us.  I  found  her  well  and,  as  always,  cheerful,  but 
pale.  ''  Yes,  William,"  she  said,  "  I  shall  be  glad  to 
come  over  to-morrow  if  you  will  call  and  get  me." 
After  a  few  kind  words  I  left  her.  That  evening  she 
retired  to  her  couch  and  fell  asleep,  and  awoke  to 
spend  Christmas  in  heaven  ! 

In  the  morning  I  hastened  over  to  see  my  old  friend, 
and  when  I  looked  at  her  pale,  wrinkled  face,  full  of 


10  Autobiography. 

peace  and  sweetness,  it  seemed  to  me  that  I  had  never 
seen  so  beautiful  a  human  countenance.  At  her  burial 
only  a  few  women  were  present.  Besides  the  minister 
I  was  the  only  male  attendant.  The  weather  was  cold  ; 
the  room  where  the  corpse  lay  was  small.  We  sang. 
The  two  lines  closing  each  stanza  were  as  follows : 

"  O  Lord,  I  pray,  through  Jesus'  blood, 
Shape  Thou  my  latter  end  for  good." 

I  hummed  as  the  women  sang  the  verses  and  always 
at  the  end  joined  heartily  in  the  refrain.  Those  words, 
repeated  over  and  over  again,  were  deeply  blessed  to 
my  soul. 


CHAPTER    II. 

CONVERSION— RELIGIOUS   PROGRESS  IN  RUSSIA — NEW- 
PLANS. 

I  NOW  come  to  the  eventful  period  of  my  life,  when 
a  new  world  of  spiritual  realities  was  unfolded  to 
my  astonished  vision  and  the  whole  course  of  my  life 
changed.  This  was  at  the  very  time  when  divine  truth 
and  vital  godliness  began  to  take  root  in  that  part  of 
Russia.  It  became  the  Goshen  of  that  empire.  I  wish 
I  were  in  possession  of  the  data  which  stand  connected 
with  my  life  as  preliminaries  to  my  change.  But  I  can 
only  speak  of  some  facts,  without  accurate  dates.  Noth- 
ing, or,  at  any  rate,  very  little,  has  been  published,  in 
any  shape,  concerning  those  events  to  which  I  now 
come  ;  and  my  geographical  position*  renders  it  im- 
possible for  me  to  avail  myself  of  what  may  exist. 

The  portrait,  in  lithograph,  of  a  Catholic  priest,  as  he 
then  was,  hangs  on  the  walls  of  my  study.  If  I  had  a 
spiritual  father  on  earth,  he  was  the  one.  His  name 
was  Ignatius  Lindl. 

Alexander  I.,  hearing  of  the  persecution  and  im- 
prisonment of  Lindl  and  Gossner  in  Bavaria,  by  rea- 
son of  their  evangelical  views,  asked  it  as  a  favor  of  the 
King  of  Bavaria,  that  these  two  priests  might  be  per- 


*  In  Constantinople,  Turkey. 

(II) 


12  Autobiography. 

mitted  to  remove  to  Russia,  and  the  king  was  but  too 
glad  to  get  rid  of  these  troublers  of  his  good  Catho- 
lics. Lindl  became  Provost  of  the  CathoHcs  in  St. 
Petersburg,  and  preached  there,  I  beHeve,  for  about  a 
year.  The  excitement  was  very  great ;  the  church  was 
thronged  by  CathoHcs  and  Protestants,  and  it  was  said 
that  Alexander  I.  himself  attended  the  services  in  the 
disguise  of  a  Russian  driver.  At  all  events,  the  em- 
peror had  several  interviews  of  the  most  confidential 
kind  with  Mr.  Lindl,  and,  dropping  on  his  knees  and 
bowing  his  head,  asked  in  tears  what  he  should  do  to 
be  saved. 

Mr.  Lindl  had  left  many  people  in  Germany,  who 
desired,  by  all  means,  to  follow  him.  He  intended  to 
build  a  village,  and  make  a  settlement  of  true  Chris- 
tians in  Bessarabia,  South  Russia.  The  emperor  read- 
ily granted  him  the  requisite  land,  and  in  1820  he 
removed  preliminarily  to  Odessa,  where  he  became 
Provost  of  the  Catholic  churches  and  the  monastery. 
His  place  at  St.  Petersburg  was  supplied  by  Mr.  Goss- 
ner,  who  arrived  there  before  Mr.  Lindl  left  the  capi- 
tal. Mr.  Lindl  arrived  in  Odessa  late  in  1820,  and  for 
a  short  time  occupied  a  hired  house  diagonally  across 
the  street  from  us. 

Having  been  told  that  he  was  a  great  preacher,  I 
went  to  hear  him,  though,  in  my  youthful  folly  and 
pride,  I  had  not  the  least  idea  that  a  Catholic  priest 
could  teach  me  anything.  I  remember  neither  text  nor 
subject ;  I  only  remember  that  it  swept  away,  in  the 
first  part,  all  worthiness  and  claim  of  the  sinner,  and  in 
the  second  part  it  opened  wide  the  door  of  free  grace 


Conversion.  13 

in  Christ.  Now,  I  had  had  the  conviction  from  my 
early  days,  perhaps  my  eighth  year,  that  I  was  a  lost 
sinner,  though  that  conviction  was  merely  intellectual. 
Reflection  had  also  led  me  to  consider  all  earthly 
things  entirely  hollow.  An  eternity  of  guilt  and  woe 
before  me  stripped  the  world  of  all  those  charms  for 
which  I  had  so  high  a  natural  relish. 

But  now  I  saw  before  me  eternal  life,  free  and  full, 
*'  without  money  and  without  price."  The  problem  of 
my  existence  was  solved  already — solved  for  me  in 
Christ.  To  leave  the  world  and  all  for  Christ's  sake  ? 
Why,  that  was  nothing;  for  I  had  despised  all  long 
ago,  and  had  wished  to  be  rid  of  it.  The  fact  was,  I 
lost  nothing  and  gained  all. 

I  do  not  know  that  this  was  fully  my  impression  and 
experience  the  very  first  time  I  heard  Mr.  Lindl ;  but, 
at  any  rate,  the  work  began  there,  and  I  never  lost 
more  than  one  sermon  while  he  was  preaching  at 
Odessa,  and  the  loss  of  that  sermon  I  felt  most  keenly. 

At  the  same  time  the  Lord  sent  some  other  of  His 
servants  to  benighted  Odessa  and  its  neighboring  vil- 
lages. A  Jewish  missionary — not  an  Israelite,  as  Jew- 
ish missionaries  are  too  generally  supposed  to  be — the 
Rev.  John  Saltet,  from  the  Basle  Missionary  Institute, 
visited  Odessa.  The  first  time  I  saw  him  was  at  a 
service  where  he  sat  in  the  same  slip  with  me.  I  was 
exceedingly  struck  with  his  homely  appearance.  The 
next  season  of  worship  I  saw  him  mounting  the  pul- 
pit, and  then  his  face  was  as  the  face  of  an  angel.  I 
heard  him  preach  while  he  remained  at  Odessa,  visited 
him  many   an    evening,  listened  to  his  conversation, 


14  Autobiography. 

which  was  full  of  Christ,  and  sometimes  I  sat  there 
weeping  profusely  while  he  talked. 

About  the  same  time  a  new  military  governor  was 
sent  to  Odessa.  He  had  a  valet  de  chambre,  a  Mora- 
vian by  the  name  of  Koch,  a  dear,  single-hearted  soul, 
full  of  faith  and  love.  He  immediately  began  to  hold 
meetings  in  connection  with  some  serious  families  who 
had  followed  Mr.  Lindl  from  St.  Petersburg.  I  had 
heard  some  slanderous  reports  about  these  meetings, 
and  concluded  from  the  evil  the  world  spoke  concern- 
ing them,  that  there  must  be  something  good  in  them. 
I  went  to  one  of  them.  Singing  and  reading  was  all 
that  was  attempted.  But  there  was  in  the  meetings 
such  a  spirit  of  love,  peace,  and  comfort,  that  from 
that  evening  I  never  missed  one  till  I  left  Odessa  for 
missionary  ground  in  1826.  I  subsequently  became 
very  intimate  with  Mr.  Koch,  as  did  also  several  others 
of  this  despised  little  circle  of  "  Pietists,"  and  thus  my 
life  of  piety  was  begun.  For  no  profession  of  attach- 
ment to  the  despised  Jesus  could,  under  those  circum- 
stances, be  more  emphatic  than  to  go  to  the  afternoon 
services  of  Mr.  Lindl  in  the  Catholic  church,  to  visit 
Mr.  Saltet,  and  to  attend  the  conference  meetings  of 
Mr.  Koch. 

The  theatre,  the  ball-room,  the  billiard-table,  and 
even  the  Philharmonic  circle  went  overboard  !  The 
first  three  went  without  regret ;  but  the  music  cost  me 
a  struggle,  and  extorted  a  deep  sigh.  Not  that  I  con- 
sidered the  practice  or  enjoyment  of  good  music  at  all 
wrong.  But  first,  it  was  my  idol,  and  therefore  it  had 
to  go ;    and  secondly,  it  led  me  into  company  which, 


Religious  Progress  in  Russia.  15 

although  irreproachable,  was  worldly.  I  felt  that  if 
others  could  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  music,  I  could  not, 
without  running  too  serious  a  risk.  It  was  therefore 
laid  on  the  altar. 

My  family  were  generally  opposed  to  my  new  ways. 
My  mother  was  anxious  lest  I  should  become  deranged. 
But  I  felt  that  I  had  never  been  reasonable  before. 
Roused  from  a  profound  and  senseless  sleep,  I  seemed 
to  have  come  to  myself  at  last.  Some  members  of  the 
family  frowned  upon  me  as  fanatical  and  self-righteous. 
Others  felt  more  kindly,  especially  my  youngest  sister, 
who  sometimes  went  with  me  to  the  despised  meet- 
ings. 

tindl  suffered  much  persecution  from  the  Catholic 
priests  of  Odessa,  although  he  was  their  Provost.  Once 
they  shut  the  doors  of  the  church  against  him,  so  that 
there  could  be  no  afternoon  service ;  nor  were  they 
again  opened,  till  an  appeal  to  Alexander  I.  brought 
the  requisite  order.  Subsequently  Lindl  moved  to  the 
village  of  Sarata,  where  he  labored  earnestly  and  with 
great  success  for  souls. 

The  colonists  there  were  of  a  very  low  character, 
lazy  and  drunken.  Every  effort  of  the  government, 
both  in  the  way  of  kindness  and  severity,  had  been 
tried  to  lead  them  to  better  habits.  To  religion  they 
were  utter  strangers,  and  there  was  not  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel  in  all  that  region. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  influence  of  the  Gospel 
preached  at  Sarata  was  felt  in  the  surrounding  German 
villages.  On  the  Sabbath  the  people  flocked  together 
to  hear,  driving  great  distances  through  the  night,  and 


i6  Autobiography. 

the  effect  was  great  and  good.  But  the  poverty  and 
consequent  distress  of  the  Sarata  people  was  great, 
and  when  the  winter  of  1822-23  came,  though  they 
were  tolerably  well  housed  and  had  some  cattle,  there 
was  hardly  a  plough  in  the  village,  and  they  had  neither 
seed  to  sow  the  coming  spring,  nor  money  wherewith 
to  buy. 

In  February,  1823,  a  considerable  sum  of  money  in 
gold  came  from  friends  in  St.  Petersburg.  But  who 
should  carry  it  over  to  them  ?  The  road  was  reputed 
to  be  unsafe  because  of  wolves  and  robbers ;  it  was 
almost  impracticable  on  account  of  the  mud,  and  be- 
yond the  Dniester,  the  greater  distance  to  the  village, 
there  was  no  vestige  of  any  road  at  all,  and  the  trav- 
eler had  to  find  his  way  by  certain  hillocks  covering 
the  bones  of  ancient  Moldavian  chiefs.  But  I  offered 
to  go,  and  heavily  laden  with  gold  in  a  girdle  under  my 
clothes,  I  set  out.  I  will  not  detail  this  tour,  though 
it  was  sufficiently  rich  in  events,  considering  its  brevity. 
On  the  third  day  I  reached  Sarata  while  all  the  vil- 
lagers were  in  their  place  of  worship  at  evening  prayers. 
My  arrival  was  as  an  angel's  visit  to  Mr.  Lindl  and  his 
people.     They  had  help  and  were  thankful. 

On  the  days  of  Pentecost  of  this  year,  a  considerable 
number  of  serious  people  from  Odessa  and  the  sur- 
rounding Protestant  German  villages,  went  across  the 
Dniester  to  enjoy  the  season  at  Sarata.  It  is  entirely 
beyond  my  powers  to  paint  the  scenes  which  awaited 
us  there.  Almost  all  the  inhabitants  of  those  dissolute 
German  villages,  twelve  or  thirteen  in  number,  to  which 
I  have  referred,  were  present.     The  village  was  swarm- 


Religious  Progress  in  Russia.  17 

ing,  and  it  was  utterly  impossible  for  the  multitude  to 
find  admittance  into  the  places  of  worship. 

They  stood  outside,  as  far  as  the  noble  voice  of 
Lindl,  the  swell  of  which  would  shake  the  building, 
could  be  heard.  The  first  day,  Pentecost  Sunday, 
passed  in  great  solemnity.  On  the  second  day  Mr. 
Lindl  preached  from  the  appointed  passage,  John  iii. 
16-21,  dwelling  simply  on  the  word  *'  so." 

Never  did  I  hear  a  discourse  on  the  love  of  God,  so 
entirely  overwhelming  and  melting.  The  whole  con- 
gregation broke  down  ;  they  wept,  they  sobbed,  they 
almost  shrieked  ;  Lindl's  lion  voice  could  hardly  be 
heard.  I  was  in  the  gallery  to  assist  in  leading  the 
singing.  A  tall,  burly  young  farmer,  whom  I  did  not 
know,  nor  ever  saw  again,  unconsciously  leaned  on  my 
shoulder,  and  sobbed  and  shook  convulsively,  while  a 
stream  of  tears  rolled  down  his  cheeks  and  dropped  on 
the  floor.  I  do  not  think  the  sermon  lasted  longer  than 
fifteen  minutes.  The  excitement  was  too  high,  and 
threatened  to  pass  the  bounds  of  sobriety.  The 
preacher  called  upon  the  congregation  to  unite  in 
prayer,  and  dismissed  them.  It  seemed  to  me  well  that 
he  did  so. 

That  season  I  shall  never  forget.  It  was  almost 
millennial.  "  One  thing  "  occupied  all  minds  and  filled 
all  hearts.  That  evening,  after  the  services  of  the  day 
were  over,  we  young  people  in  and  around  the  house 
of  Mr.  Lindl  sat  down  in  the  moonlight  and  began  to 
sing.  I  took  out  my  flute  and  guided  the  sacred  song. 
The  harmony  no  sooner  rolled  down  the  village,  right 
and  left,  than  men,  women,  and  children  came  gather- 


i8  Autobiography. 

ing  up,  partly  to  hear,  partly  to  join  our  song.  It  was 
a  delightful  hour,  when  in  the  wilds  of  Bessarabia,  dur- 
ing a  calm  moonlight  evening,  nature  and  grace  seemed 
to  chime  together  in  the  praises  of  redeeming  love. 

In  1839  I  again  traveled  through  these  very  villages 
and  a  few  other  new  ones,  preaching  from  two  to 
three  times  a  day,  and  everywhere  I  found  brethren — 
a  most  single-hearted  people. 

Immediately  on  my  hopeful  conversion  to  Christ,  I 
was  impressed  with  the  duty  of  carrying  this  glorious 
Gospel  to  those  that  sat  in  darkness.  If  I  remember 
right,  the  very  first  missionary  pamphlet  put  into  my 
hand  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Saltet  roused  the  missionary 
spark  in  me  which  was  never  again  quenched.  But  I 
was  ignorant  of  the  best  way  to  do  good.  One  of  my 
young  friends  from  Switzerland,  David  Schlatter,  was 
actually  a  self-supporting  missionary  among  the  Tar- 
tars of  the  Crimea,  living  among  them  as  a  servant,  and 
subsisting  upon  horse-flesh  and  mares'  milk.  Although 
my  constitution  seemed  to  be  as  firm  as  a  rock,  I  con- 
sidered that  mode  of  life  harder  than  I  should  be  able 
to  bear  ;  and,  indeed,  Schlatter  broke  down  and  had  to 
retire  after  a  desperate  trial  of  five  or  six  years. 

Before  Mr.  Lindl  left  Russia,  another  young  friend 
of  mine,  belonging  to  Mr.  L.'s  people,  made  an  at- 
tempt among  the  shepherds  of  Moldavia  and  Bess- 
arabia, becoming  a  hired  servant  among  them  and 
keeping  sheep.  I  actually  wrote  to  him  that,  if  any 
good  could  be  done  in  that  way,  I  should  join  him  as 
soon  as  I  could  get  rid  of  my  responsibihties  to  my 
family.    But  he  soon  broke  down,  and  when  Lindl  left, 


New  Plans.  19 

he  went  with  him.  Thus  my  hopes  of  becoming  a 
self-supporting  lay  missionary  entirely  failed.  Until 
the  year  1825  my  family  were  utterly  opposed  to  my 
missionary  notions,  of  which  they  were  well  aware,  al- 
though I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  spoken  of 
them.  The  fact  was,  that  all  my  Christian  acquaint- 
ances, and  many  worldly  ones,  and  many  people  in  the 
villages  around  who  knew  of  my  change,  seemed  to 
take  it  for  granted  that  I  should  be  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel  and  a  missionary.  On  the  general  subject  of 
religion  a  great  change  had  taken  place  in  our  family 
circle.  Light  books,  novels,  plays,  etc.,  gradually  dis- 
appeared, and  my  mother,  my  older  brother,  and  my 
sisters  were  inclined  to  read  the  religious  books  which 
I  brought  into  the  house.  They  began  to  take  differ- 
ent views  of  things  now,  and  I  perceived  that  there 
would  not  be  the  same  opposition  to  my  plan,  if  cir- 
cumstances should  otherwise  prove  favorable. 

But  to  me  everything  seemed  more  and  more  hope- 
less. That  summer  of  1825  I  once  went  out  into  the 
country,  and  meditated  on  the  plan  of  leaving  the  city 
and  carrying  on  my  trade  in  the  cheaper  locality  of  a 
village.  I  thought  I  should  remain  unmarried,  and 
send  my  work  to  my  brother  in  Odessa  to  sell,  thus 
supporting  myself,  and  giving  all  my  earnings  beyond 
my  immediate  and  absolute  wants,  to  the  missionary 
cause.  Thus  I  thought  I  might  support  a  missionary 
in  the  field,  and  do  my  work  through  him.  In  this  con- 
templated single-blessedness  I  had  the  pious  Gerhard 
Tersteegen  for  my  model,  and  I  felt  so  infinitely  rich 
and  blest  in  Christ,  that  I  cared  not  for  earth  or  sky,  if 


20  Autobiography. 

I  could  but  do  something  for  Him^  though  it  might  be 
sweeping  the  streets.  But  these  were  all  mere  human 
thoughts.  The  ^.ord  had  ordered  it  quite  differently  ; 
and,  little  more  than  a  year  later,  I  was  sitting  in  a 
room  in  the  Theological  Seminary  in  Andover,  Mass., 
in  America.  The  second  great  crisis  of  my  life  drew 
near.  And  here  I  may  well  pause ;  for  here  my  life- 
work,  my  missionary  career,  begins. 


CHAPTER   III. 

DECIDES   TO  BECOME  A  MISSIONARY— LEAVING  HOME 
— DEPARTURE  FOR  AMERICA. 

IT  will  need  but  little  attention  to  the  events  of  any 
one's  own  life  to  convince  him  that,  very  frequently, 
the  most  trifling  incidents  exert  a  deep  and  abiding  in- 
fluence upon  the  course  of  events.  In  1825  I  knew  no 
English,  though  I  often  wished  to  learn  it.  There 
was  but  one  individual  in  Odessa  who  taught  this  lan- 
guage— an  Englishman — and  he  was  a  drunkard,  and 
charged  a  dollar  for  a  lesson.  This  was  beyond  my 
means.  I  knew  French,  had  learned  Italian  by  my- 
self, knew  Russian,  of  course,  and  had  begun  Latin, 
and  even  Greek.  But  as  my  mind  was  still  in  a  state 
of  hope  concerning  missionary  work,  though  without 
any  definite  plans,  I  very  much  wished  to  learn  Eng- 
lish. In  my  younger  days  I  had  given  music  lessons 
during  my  leisure  hours,  and  earned  many  a  dollar  by 
it,  but  when  I  became  serious,  I  gave  it  up,  as  well  as 
my  attendance  at  musical  circles,  because  these  things 
led  me  too  much  into  worldly  society. 

But,  a  few  months  previous  to  the  event  I  now  refer 
to,  I  consented  to  instruct  a  young  English  merchant 
in  flute-playing,  because  he  was  a  quiet  young  man,  and 
the  family  one  of  high  respectability.  Once,  while 
giving  him  his  lesson,  the  intemperate  man  of  whom  I 

(21) 


22  Autobiography. 

have  spoken  came  in  and  conversed  with  my  pupil  in 
English,  of  which  I  understood  nothing,  except  that  I 
heard  him  mention  my  name.  When  he  was  gone,  I 
naturally  inquired  what  he  had  been  saying  about  me. 
My  pupil  replied  that  the  other  man  wanted  me  to 
give  him  lessons  in  music,  but  that  he  told  him  I  had 
given  up  teaching,  and  was  instructing  him  only  as  a 
special  favor.  I  remarked  that  if  the  man  would  teach 
me  English,  I  would  accede  to  his  request.  My  pupil 
replied  that  the  English  teacher  would  be  but  too 
happy  to  do  so  ;  but  again,  after  awhile,  added  that  he 
disliked  my  associating  with  so  bad  a  character,  and 
that,  if  I  wanted  to  learn  English,  he  would  give  me 
lessons  himself.  I  was  extremely  delighted,  and  now 
we  exchanged  our  lessons. 

Before  the  year  closed,  I  had  occasion  to  turn  my 
new  acquisition  to  account  in  connection  with  the  mis- 
sionary work.  The  year  following  I  was  in  America, 
whither  I  should  never  have  gone,  had  I  not  learned 
English  then. 

On  the  22d  of  August,  1825,  I  was  twenty-seven 
years  old,  and  I  began  to  fear  that  my  missionary  plans 
were  not  what  Providence  had  designed  for  me.  Al- 
though I  never  spoke  about  these  things  to  any  one, 
the  conviction  still  prevailed  strangely  among  my 
Christian  friends,  and  even  among  worldly  people,  that 
I  would  become  a  missionary.  As  the  opposition  to 
this  plan  formerly  prevailing  in  my  family  had  ceased, 
I  thought  I  ought  to  come  to  a  decision,  especially 
as  it  also  seemed  more  practicable  to  transfer  my  fam- 
ily responsibilities  to   my  older  brother,  involving,  as 


Decides  to  Become  a  Missionary.         23 

this  did,  the  support  of  an  aged  mother,  an  unmarried 
sister,  and  an  invahd  brother,  in  consideration  of  which 
I,  of  course,  surrendered  to  him  all  claim  to  the  family 
property. 

Soon  after,  I  formed  a  plan  to  bring  the  matter  to  a 
conclusion.  Being  the  son  of  a  colonist,  I  could  not 
leave  the  country  without  a  settlement  with  the  gov- 
ernment, either  by  transferring  my  government  debt  to 
those  I  left  behind,  or  paying  it  myself.  The  routine 
to  be  gone  through  in  such  a  case  was  complicated  and 
tedious,  and  often  difficult  of  accomplishment ;  for  the 
government  discouraged  the  removal  of  colonists. 
Sometimes  a  year  or  more  was  consumed  in  overcom- 
ing these  obstacles.  I  tried  to  obtain  my  perpetual 
release  from  Russia,  determined,  if  I  could  obtain  it 
before  the  summer  of  1826,  that  I  would  travel  on  foot 
to  Basle,  in  Switzerland,  where  there  was  a  missionary 
institute.  Before  going  there,  I  intended  to  see  Chris- 
tian people  in  Germany  and  France,  earning  my  trav- 
eling expenses  by  my  trade.  Then,  if  Basle  suited 
me,  and  if  they  would  receive  me  there,  I  intended  to 
go  through  a  course  of  preparatory  study.  If  by  the 
middle  of  1826  the  way  out  of  Russia  was  not  yet 
open,  I  would  take  it  as  an  indication  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence that  I  should  spend  my  earthly  pilgrimage  where 
I  was. 

I  had  a  slight  acquaintance  with  the  gentleman  who 
was  at  the  head  of  the  government  department  for 
foreign  colonists  in  South  Russia.  I  ventured  to  write 
a  private  letter  to  him,  telling  him  that  I  desired  to 
leave  Russia  for  good ;  but,  being  unacquainted  with 


24  Autobiography. 

the  steps  to  be  taken  to  obtain  my  final  release,  I 
begged  it  as  a  special  favor  from  him,  briefly  to  indicate 
the  routine  to  me.  I  received  no  reply,  and  soon  be- 
gan to  think  that  my  residence  in  Russia  was  settled, 
till  I  should  leave  Russia,  earth,  and  all,  for  an  eternal 
city. 

But  one  day  I  received  a  summons  from  the  Gov- 
ernor of  the  city.  Hastily  obeying  the  mysterious  and 
unexpected  call,  I  repaired  to  the  Governor's  chancery, 
and  asked  the  officer  to  whom  I  was  shown,  what  was 
required  of  me. 

''  Why  don't  you  come  and  get  your  passport?"  he 
said. 

I  was  thunderstruck.  "  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  I 
can  have  my  passport  abroad,  if  I  call  for  it  ?  "  I  asked. 

**  Yes,  sir,"  he  replied.  "  W.  G.  Schauffier  may  have 
his  eternal  passport  for  foreign  lands,  whenever  he 
wants  it !  " 

Such  a  thing  never  had  happened  before,  and,  I  be- 
lieve, never  happened  afterward. 

The  only  human  explanation  I  can  give  of  it,  is,  that 
Major  Giildenschantz  may  have  learned  from  some  of 
my  friends  that  I  should  probably  go  out  on  a  foreign 
mission,  and  that  he  felt  kindly  toward  this  plan,  for 
there  was  then  not  a  little  religious  feeling  abroad  in 
Russia.  Wishing  to  do  his  part  toward  it,  he  set  me 
free  at  once. 

To  me,  however,  it  was  a  clear  indication  of  what 
was  coming. 

Before  the  year  1825  closed,  there  arrived  at  Odessa 
the  well-known  Jewish  missionary,  Joseph  Wolff.     He 


Decides  to  Become  a  Missionary  25 

preached  several  times  in  the  German  church,  and  held 
evening  meetings.  His  excitable  mind  was  always  occu- 
pied with  some  new  plan  for  missionary  operations, 
oftentimes  the  most  impracticable  imaginable.  At  that 
time  he  entertained  the  idea  of  forming  a  traveling 
missionary  institution,  like  "  Franciscus  Xaverius,"  in 
India,  in  the  i6th  century.  Enthusiasm  is  contagious! 
And  our  good  people  in  Odessa  were  entirely  unac- 
quainted with  the  way  of  doing  business  in  the  mission- 
ary line.  They  thought  I  ought  to  become  one  of 
Wolff's  pupils. 

Although  ignorant  myself  on  subjects  of  this  charac- 
ter, I  thought  the  plan  wild,  and  refused  offering  myself 
to  Mr.  Wolff.  But  one  evening  I  accompanied  him 
home  from  a  meeting,  for  he  never  could  find  his  way 
alone,  and  when  we  entered  his  room,  he  turned  toward 
me,  and  positively  and  solemnly  invited  me  to  accom- 
pany him.  I  wanted  to  know  his  plans,  and  he  devel- 
oped them  as  follows. 

He  said  :  "  We  will  go  together  to  Palestine.  There 
you  will  go  into  the  monastery  of  Kasobeen,  on  Mount 
Lebanon,  and  study  Arabic  and  Persian,  while  I  am 
laboring  where  I  find  work.  Then  you  will  study 
the  Mohammedan  controversy  of  Henry  Martyn,  edited 
by  Professor  Lee,  and  after  that  we  will  go  to  Persia, 
you  laboring  as  you  find  opportunity  among  the  Mo- 
hammedans, and  I  among  the  Jews." 

I  consented  ;  and  on  the  whole  I  have  not  yet  re- 
pented of  it. 

In  an  evening  meeting,  from  which  I  was  detained 
by  a  violent  headache,  Mr.  Wolff  announced  that  he 


26  Autobiography. 

had  secured  a  fellow-laborer,  mentioning  no  name.  No 
one  doubted  who  it  was. 

My  brother  Gottlob  was  also  in  the  meeting,  and 
when  they  knelt  for  the  last  prayer,  he  broke  down  and 
wept  bitterly.  He  came  home  overwhelmed  with  a 
storm  of  emotion,  and  threw  himself  into  the  bed  by 
my  side.  This  was  the  day  of  mercy  with  him,  and 
from  that  day  I  have  considered  him  a  brother  twice 
over,  according  to  the  flesh,  and  in  the  Lord.  He  had 
been  rather  seriously  affected  by  divine  truth  for  some 
months,  and  now  the  decision  had  come.  He  chose 
the  Lord  for  his  portion. 

Now  events  followed  in  rapid  succession.  By  a  kind 
of  tacit  understanding  between  my  brother  and  myself, 
he  was  to  take  the  share  of  our  very  small  property 
which  might  have  fallen  tome  after  my  mother's  death, 
and  in  exchange,  set  me  free  from  all  my  obligations  to 
the  government,  and  to  my  mother,  sister,  and  invalid 
brother. 

To  explain  what  I  mean  by  obligations  to  the  gov- 
ernment, let  me  say  that  the  colonists,  on  coming  to 
Russia  at  the  time  when  we  immigrated,  received  assist- 
ance from  the  Russian  government,  in  the  shape  of 
traveling  money  from  the  frontier  to  the  place  of  their 
destination  ;  also  a  house,  and  a  small  sum  of  money  to 
begin  business  with,  or,  in  the  case  of  farmers,  a  con- 
siderable extent  of  arable  land.  Any  one  leaving  the 
country  again  was  to  leave  the  property  in  house  or 
land  behind,  and  refund  to  the  government  his  share 
of  pecuniary  assistance  received. 

These  liabilities,  the   extent  of  which  we  could  not 


Leaving  Home.  27 

even  guess,  though  they  could  not  be  great,  my  brother 
assumed,  while  I  left  for  missionary  ground,  with  my 
wardrobe  and  a  moderate  sum  of  money — how  much, 
or,  rather,  Jiozv  little^  I  do  not  remember.  This  was 
certainly  a  self  denying  arrangement  for  my  brother, 
and  his  pecuniary  sacrifice  to  the  missionary  cause  was 
not  small.  But  he  had  just  found  the  "  treasure  in  a 
piece  of  ground,"  and  did  not  care  for  earthly  gain  or 
loss. 

On  the  8th  of  February,  1826,  Mr.  Wolff  and  myself 
went  on  board  of  an  English  brig  whose  captain's 
name  was  Newton.  Before  my  departure  many  people 
called  to  see  me,  for  I  was  the  first  missionary  that 
ever  went  out  of  South  Russia ;  and  when,  after  a 
farewell  meeting,  we  went  down  to  the  vessel,  the 
number  of  friends  accompanying  us  was  so  great  that 
the  quarantine  officers  expressed  their  astonishment. 
The  harbor  was  frozen  far  out,  and  all  the  vessels  were 
fast.  We  walked  on  board  our  vessel,  while  a  com- 
pany of  men  were  occupied  in  sawing  through  the  ice 
in  which  she  was  imbedded,  so  as  to  make  for  her  a 
way  out  to  sea. 

Farewell  seasons  cannot  be  described,  but  only  imag- 
ined and  felt.  My  aged  mother  did  not  accompany  me 
to  the  port.  She  only  went  as  far  as  the  gate  with  me, 
and,  giving  me  her  hand,  said,  quietly,  "  Good-bye, 
William  ;  I  shall  see  you  no  more  !  " 

But  in  less  than  seven  years  she  did  see  me  again, 
and  heard  me  preach  one  sermon ;  and  as  she  saw  me 
enter  the  pulpit,  wept  silent  tears  of  joy. 

After  sailing  from  Odessa  our  wind  was  favorable, 


28  Autobiography. 

but  high,  and  the  atmosphere  thick.  When  we  had 
reason  to  suppose  ourselves  near  land, — it  was  toward 
noon, — Captain  Newton  came  into  the  cabin. 

"  My  mind  is  not  easy,"  he  said.  ''  If  with  this  wind 
aft  we  do  not  soon  make  the  Bosporus,  we  shall  fare 
badly." 

"Come,  captain,"  Mr.  Wolff  said,  "let  us  ask  for 
Divine  direction." 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  pray,  gentlemen,"  the 
captain  replied ;  "  but  my  post  of  duty  is  in  the  fore- 
top,  looking  out  for  the  Bosporus." 

He  went  on  deck,  while  we  joined  in  prayer  for  di- 
rection. Soon  after  twelve  o'clock  the  captain  came 
down  again.  Just  at  noon  the  atmosphere  had  cleared 
a  little,  the  sun  shone  out  for  a  few  moments,  showing 
the  entrance  of  the  Bosporus  directly  before  us. 
"  We  have  made  the  Bosporus,  gentlemen,"  he  said, 
"  and  are  running  straight  for  it.  Now  if  you  will  give 
thanks  to  God  for  this  deliverance,  I  shall  be  happy  to 
join  you."  We  then  knelt  down,  and  Mr.  Wolff  gave 
hearty  thanks. 

We  had  hardly  entered  the  Bosporus  when  a  thick 
snow-storm  obscured  the  atmosphere,  but  we  were  safe. 
When  we  came  on  shore  the  people  expressed  aston- 
ishment at  our  narrow  escape.  The  city  was  full  of 
the  sad  news  of  vessels  wrecked,  and  lives  lost. 

Mr.  Wolff  was  hospitably  received  by  the  British 
chaplain  and  agent  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 
Society.  I  went  to  a  private  boarding-house,  kept  by 
a  Greek  family. 

At  that  time  there  were  no  steamers,  and  the  land 


Leaving  Home.  29 

post  was  tardy  and  unsafe,  especially  during  the  win- 
ter. Sailing  vessels  were  altogether  unsafe  conveyances 
for  letters.  When,  therefore,  the  news  arrived  at  Odessa 
that  so  many  vessels  had  perished  near  the  Bosporus, 
at  the  time  when  we  came  across  the  Black  Sea,  it  was 
generally  supposed  that  we  were  among  the  victims. 
Fortunately,  my  poor,  aged  mother  was  sustained  and 
enabled  to  believe  that  we  were  safe.  The  very  day 
when  my  first  package  of  letters  arrived  at  Odessa,  an 
unmerciful  gossip  visited  my  mother  and  assured  her 
that  there  was  no  doubt  of  our  melancholy  fate.  But 
she  held  on  to  her  trust  in  God,  and  so  did  the  rest  of 
my  pious  friends,  who,  in  their  simplicity  of  faith  and 
their  confidence  in  the  efKcacy  of  prayer,  considered  it 
quite  impossible  that  we  should  have  been  wrecked. 
Great  was  their  joy  when  at  last  the  news  of  our  safe 
arrival  reached  Odessa.  They  blessed  God  and  sang 
His  praise  in  joyful  German  lays,  and  were  now  once 
more,  and  more  deeply  than  ever,  convinced  that  the 
Lord  had  wonders  of  mercy  in  store  for  me  ;  nor  were 
they  mistaken. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  at  this  time  the  Janis- 
saries were  still  in  existence  and  in  full  power.  Their 
character,  their  unbearable  arrogance  and  tyranny,  and 
their  overthrow,  which  was  now  nearer  than  they  or  any 
one  else  thought,  have  been  too  of.xn  described  to  be 
referred  to  here  in  det  il.  Not  only  did  the  native  sub- 
jects, e  pecially  those  who  were  not  Turks,  tremble 
before  them,  but  even  foreigners  ha  !  to  walk  with 
great  circumspection.  Thus,  when  Mr.  Wolff  and  my- 
self visited  the  few  foreign  Protestants  of  German  and 


30  Autobiography. 

French  birth,  Mr.  W.  offered  to  preach  to  them  while 
we  should  be  there.  They  timidly  replied  that  they 
would  be  glad  to  attend,  but  as  the  services  must  be  in 
a  private  house,  there  being  no  authorized  ambassado- 
rial chapel  at  our  command,  it  was  too  hazardous  an  ex- 
periment.    Private  dwellings  were  not  thus  privileged. 

On  the  first  of  March,  Mr.  WoliT  left  for  Adrianople. 
His  presence  there  roused  the  wrath  of  the  Janissaries, 
and  they  attempted  to  secure  his  person,  although  he 
lived  with  the  English  consul.  But,  fortunately,  he 
had  left  before  the  crowd  appeared  at  the  consulate, 
and  making  a  somewhat  narrow  escape,  arrived  at  Con- 
stantinople again  on  the  20th  of  the  month. 

During  my  stay  in  Constantinople  I  studied  the  pub- 
lications of  Prof.  Lee,  of  England,  respecting  Henry 
Martyn's  controversies  with  the  Persian  sophists.  I 
also  applied  myself  diligently  to  the  Turkish  language  ; 
but  as  there  were  no  better  means  within  my  reach,  I 
was  dependent  on  the  manuscript  lessons  of  an  old 
teacher,  and  made  very  little  progress. 

By  this  time  I  was  convinced  that  Mr.  Wolff's  vision- 
ary plan  for  preparing  young  men  for  the  missionary 
work  must  be  abandoned,  and  also  that,  in  order  to 
do  anything  properly,  I  must  make  more  regular 
preparation,  and  that  in  very  different  circumstances 
from  those  of  an  itinerant  life.  I  had  gained  the 
firm  conviction,  too,  that,  even  if  I  were  already 
prepared  to  labor  with  efificiency,  I  could  not  work  by 
the  side  of  Mr.  Wolff.  His  ways  differed  too  widely 
from  mine,  and  his  love  of  excitement,  noise,  and  con- 
troversy was  utterly  abhorrent  to  my  feelings  and  con- 


Leaving  Home.  31 

victions.  I  felt  that  if  this  was  the  only  way  of  labor- 
ing as  a  missionary,  I  must  give  up  that  cherished  idea. 
But  I  was  convinced  that  there  was  a  more  excellent 
way,  and  I  resolved  to  follow  that. 

At  first  I  thought  of  going  to  England,  and  two 
English  missionaries  favored  me  with  letters  of  intro- 
duction. But  Providence  had  already  decided  differ- 
ently. The  Russian  ambassador  made  needless  dif- 
ficulties in  regard  to  my  passport,  and  the  idea  had 
to  be  given  up,  at  least  for  the  present. 

Our  stay  at  Constantinople  was  prolonged  until  the 
8th  of  May,  when  we  set  out  in  an  *'  island  boat  "  for 
Moodania,  to  proceed  by  Broosa  to  Smyrna,  overland. 
Three  days  were  spent  in  a  tedious  boat-ride,  and  eight 
days  on  horseback  between  Moodania  and  Smyrna, 
where  we  arrived  on  the  19th  of  May. 

Here  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  Rev.  John 
Hartley,  an  English  missionary  to  the  Greeks.  I  found 
him  a  most  excellent,  spiritually-minded  man.  He  put 
into  my  hands  Brainerd's  Life,  which  I  had  never  be- 
fore seen.  The  Rev,  Jonas  King  was  also  in  Smyrna 
at  that  time,  and  was  living  in  a  Greek  family,  the 
daughter  of  which  he  afterward  married. 

I  had  now  fully  resolved  to  leave  Mr.  Wolff.  I  told 
him  that  I  would  not  burden  him  any  longer,  but  seek 
my  own  livelihood  in  Smyrna,  and  do,  in  a  private  way, 
what  good  I  might.  He  insisted,  however,  that  I 
should  go  where  I  could  study ;  and  as  there  was  an 
American  brig  in  port  bound  for  Boston,  it  was  thought 
best  that  I  should  take  passage  in  that  vessel,  and  go 
to  America. 


32  Autobiography. 

The  vessel  was  the  General  Bolivar^  Captain  Cobb. 
Both  he  and  his  mate  were  professed  Christians.  In 
consideration  of  my  object,  the  captain  accepted  less 
than  the  usual  passage  money, — I  think  the  amount 
was  seventy-six  dollars, — and  he  permitted  me  to  come 
on  board  at  once.  On  the  7th  of  June  I  went  on  board 
the  brig.  On  the  loth,  Mr.  Wolff  left  for  England, 
thus  changing  all  his  former  plans. 

The  loading  of  the  vessel  went  on  much  more  slowly 
than  we  had  expected.  At  last,  on  July  ist,  early,  we  set 
sail,  but  the  wind  being  against  us,  we  came  to  anchor 
again  at  a  short  distance  from  the  city.  On  the  2d  of 
July  we  sailed  in  earnest. 

And  here  I  ought  to  say  that,  aside  from  what  Mr. 
Wolff  had  spent  for  me  in  Constantinople,  my  cash  had 
already  tJiere  begun  to  run  so  low  that  I  sold  my  gold 
watch  before  we  left  that  city.  In  Smyrna  I  sold  sev- 
eral books  I  had  with  me  ;  also  my  traveling  desk. 

After  I  had  paid  some  little  bills  there  and  gone 
on  board,  there  remained  in  my  pocket  no  more  than 
one  dollar.  Besides  this  I  had  a  letter  from  Mr. 
King  to  Mr.  Evarts,  then  Secretary  of  the  American 
Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  and 
several  extravagant  letters  of  recommendation  from 
Mr.  Wolff  to  Mr.  Evarts,  to  the  Ladies'  Society  for 
Promoting  Christianity  among  the  Jews,  etc.,  which  I 
was  quite  ashamed  to  show,  lest  the  extraordinary  ex- 
pectations they  endeavored  to  raise  should  make  me 
appear  in  the  light  of  a  religious  vagabond. 

One  thing  was  certain  :  knowing  no  man,  woman, 
nor  child  in  America,  and  having  no  claims  upon  any 


Departure  for  America.  33 

one,  I  was  pre-eminently  called  to  the  exercise  oi  faith. 
Nor  was  that  lacking.  I  felt  that  I  was  a  pilgrim  and 
a  stranger  in  the  earth,  and  that  heaven  was  my  home. 
I  looked  with  confidence  and  delight  upon  the  blue 
sky  overhead,  feeling  that  I  was  under  my  Father's 
roof,  that  all  was  right,  that  my  sacrifice  of  home  pros- 
pects was  acceptable  through  Christ,  and  that  I  was 
walking  in  the  blessed  footsteps  of  the  Divine  Mis- 
sionary. 

Before  leaving  Smyrna,  considering  the  obvious  state 
of  Mohammedan  society,  I  felt  that  nothing  could  be 
done  for  them  at  present,  and  therefore  resolved,  if 
the  Lord  should  bring  me  back  to  Turkey  again,  to 
devote  myself  to  work  among  the  Jews. 

During  our  stay  in  Smyrna,  the  slaughter  of  the  Jan- 
issaries took  place  in  Constantinople.  It  was  on  the 
15th  of  June  that  they  revolted.  The  well-known 
street  and  city  fight  ensued,  and  lasted  three  days. 
On  the  17th  a  Firman,  or  Royal  decree,  declared  that 
the  corps  of  Janissaries  had  ceased  to  exist.  They 
were  quietly  disarmed  in  Smyrna,  and  never  made  any 
attempt  to  rise  again.  Their  memory  was  cursed  among 
the  people. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE   VOYAGE — LIFE  AT  ANDOVER. 

OUR  brig  sailed  on  the  2d  of  July.  On  account  of 
the  Greek  revolutionary  war,  the  surrounding 
shores  were  swarming  with  Greek  pirates.  No  vessel 
not  furnished  with  guns  was  safe.  An  American  man- 
of-war,  then  lying  at  Smyrna,  accompanied  us  to  Anti- 
Cerigo,  the  last  island  of  the  Archipelago.  July  nth 
the  Greek  fleet  of  twenty  sail  passed  us.  On  the  I2th, 
as  our  slow-sailing  vessel  was  hanging  around  Milo,  we 
heard  the  distant  thunder  of  guns.  On  the  14th  we 
were  pursued  by  a  Greek  man-of-war,  and,  being  now 
alone,  we  expected  to  be  maltreated  ;  but  they  merely 
asked  whether  we  had  seen  the  Turkish  fleet,  what 
news  we  had,  etc.,  wished  us  a  happy  voyage,  and  went 
their  way.  Two  days  later  we  had  at  last  lost  Cerigo 
out  of  our  horizon.  South  of  us  came  up  the  Egyp- 
tian, or  Turkish,  fleet,  under  the  command  of  Mahmoud 
Ali  Pasha,  of  Egypt.  The  fleet  counted  twenty  odd 
vessels  of  various  sizes.  A  vessel  from  the  fleet  came 
off  to  meet  us,  having  a  white  flag  at  the  masthead. 
This  was  doubtless  intended  to  arrest  us  for  the  pur- 
pose of  conversation.  Our  captain,  foolishly  unwilling 
to  stop,  continued  on  his  course.  All  at  once  the  white 
flag  descended,  and  a  shot  was  fired  across  our  bow, 
striking  the  water  at  some  distance  from  us.  We 
(34) 


The  Voyage. 


35 


feared  the  next  might  strike  us,  and  our  captain  turned 
his  sails  and  lay  to,  and  soon  a  boat  full  of  men  pushed 
off  from  the  Egyptian  vessel.  We  expected  little 
courtesy  from  them,  after  our  stupid  disobedience  of 
their  orders.  Another  vessel  of  the  fleet  had  by  that 
time  moved  in  front  of  us,  for  our  reception.  But 
when  the  boat  came  alongside  of  us,  a  European  gen- 
tleman in  the  company  spoke  very  politely,  inquired 
about  the  Greek  fleet,  what  the  news  was  from  Con- 
stantinople, etc.,  and,  wishing  us  a  prosperous  voyage, 
returned  to  the  fleet. 

Our  brig  crept  along  with  unaccountable  slowness. 
On  the  30th  we  saw  Sicily;  on  the  31st,  discerned 
Malta  at  a  distance  ;  August  4th  we  sailed  by  Gozo,  the 
little  neighbor  of  Malta;  on  the  nth  we  lost  sight  of 
Sicily;  on  the  19th  the  coast  of  Spain -hove  in  sight. 
The  heat  was  intense  as  we  crept  along  the  Spanish 
coast. 

August  22d,  my  birthday,  gave  rise  to  many  reflec- 
tions in  my  mind.  The  year  before,  I  was  still  in  the 
midst  of  Christian  friends  at  Odessa.  Shall  I  ever  see 
them  again  on  earth  ?  What  are  they  doing  to-day  ? 
Doubtless  they  are  praying  for  me  !  Where  shall  I  be 
next  year  on  this  day  ?  or  is  this  my  last  earthly  birth- 
day ?  I  felt  resigned  to  all  the  unknown  Divine  will 
concerning  me.     I  had  no  choice  to  utter. 

August  26th  we  were  driven  back  to  the  coast  of  Mal- 
aga. On  the  28th  we  went  into  the  harbor  of  Gib- 
raltar. Our  vessel  was  "  crank,"  and  could  bear  no 
side  wind,  and  the  captain  promised  us  to  take  in  bal- 
last at  Gibraltar.     Now  he  begrudged  the  time  and 


36  Autobiography. 

expense.  Upon  this  we  three  passengers  sent  a  pro- 
test to  the  local  authorities.  The  captain  of  the  port 
came  on  board,  and  finding  the  vessel  too  light,  for- 
bade her  sailing,  until  she  had  taken  the  amount  of 
ballast  indicated  by  him.  Our  captain  was  annoyed 
by  our  step,  and  looked  surly,  till  our  first  gale  in  the 
Atlantic  convinced  him  of  the  necessity  of  the  meas- 
ure we  had  compelled  him  to  adopt,  and  from  that 
time  he  became  affable  again,  and  remained  so  until  the 
end  of  our  long,  tedious  voyage. 

We  left  Gibraltar  September  5th.  A  young  com- 
mercial traveler  had  joined  our  company.  From  this 
time  we  had  head-winds  and  calms,  occasionally  inter- 
rupted by  gales  of  a  pretty  serious  character.  It  was 
not  until  the  30th  that  we  saw  the  Azores.  Our  pro- 
visions, although  increased  at  Gibraltar,  gradually  failed. 
On  the  19th  of  October  we  had  the  pleasure  of  being 
overtaken  by  another  American  brig.  As  it  was  calm, 
the  accommodating  captain  of  that  vessel  consented  to 
take  letters  from  our  American  passengers  with  him, 
for  there  was  no  doubt  of  his  leaving  us  behind  at  the 
very  first  breath  of  wind.  What  was  of  most  interest 
to  us  all,  was  that  this  captain  sold  to  ours  some  pro- 
visions, without  which,  as  events  proved,  we  should 
likely  have  perished  with  hunger. 

But  let  me  shorten  this  long  journey.  We  were  all 
tired  out,  our  provisions  were  miserable,  our  water, 
hardly  fit  to  drink.  November  5th,  at  half-past  nine 
o'clock  P.M.,  we  heard  the  welcome  cry  of  ''  Light  Ho  !  " 
and  all  rushed  to  the  bows,  and  there  was  the  licrht- 
house  of  Cape  Cod.     November  6th  we  had  pleasant 


The  Voyage.  37 

weather  and  light  but  favorable  breezes.  On  the  7th, 
at  three  o'clock  A.M.,  we  entered  Boston  Harbor,  and 
came  to  anchor.  Our  passage  had  lasted  128  days,  or 
more  than  four  months,  and,  with  eighteen  souls  on 
board,  we  brought  into  port  half  a  barrel  of  pork  and 
some  biscuit. 

I  will  close  this  part  of  my  story  with  an  incident 
of  our  passage.  When  I  left  Smyrna,  I  had  but  one 
Spanish  dollar  in  my  pocket ;  but  this  was  a  profound 
secret  to  all  on  board.  I  was  sure  I  had  no  need  of  their 
sympathy  or  benevolence,  and  therefore  held  my  peace. 
Once,  while  I  was  in  my  state-room,  I  heard  the  three 
passengers  outside  raise  the  question,  which  of  them 
was  the  poorest  in  cash.  I  could  not  help  smiling. 
I  was  sure  I  could  beat  them  all.  Sergeant  Miller,  who 
had  run  away  from  the  grasp  of  the  Turks  at  the  sack 
of  Missolonghi,  easily  carried  off  the  palm,  for  he  had, 
I  believe,  only  fifty  dollars  in  his  trunk.  But  now  they 
called  for  me.  ''  How  much  money  have  you  ?  "  "  You 
must  guess  !  "  "  Much  ?  "  "  Not  at  all  ;  very  little, 
indeed  !  "  "  Well,  fifty  dollars  ?  "  ''  Less  !  "  "  Forty 
dollars?"  ''Less!"  "  Thirty  dollars  ? "  ''Less!" 
"Twenty  dollars?"  "Less!"  "Ten  dollars?"  "Less!" 
"One  dollar?"  "Yes!"  They  were  astonished,  but 
said  nothing.  I  laughed,  for  I  felt  as  easy  as  a  prince 
on  the  question  of  money. 

Later  in  the  voyage,  I  sold  a  Russian  fur  to  one  of 
my  fellow-passengers,  for  ten  dollars.  On  leaving  the 
vessel,  I  gave  one  dollar  to  the  sailors. 

On  parting,  one  of  our  passengers,  Mr.  Stith,  made 
me  the  offer  of  pecuniary  assistance,  whenever,  in  my 


38  Autobiography. 

life  as  a  student,  I  should  need  it.  Our  captain  said  : 
*'  Mr.  Schauffler,  you  are  going  to  be  a  student,  and 
you  may  get  sick,  or  want  to  go  somewhere  in  vaca- 
tions. Now,  you  may  always  come  to  my  house  on 
Cape  Cod,  whether  I  am  at  home  or  not.  We  will  doc- 
tor you  up,  and  my  girls  shall  mend  your  clothes,  and 
you  may  at  any  time  remain  with  us  three  months,  free 
of  expense." 

I  thanked  both  for  their  very  kind  offers.  I  never 
had  any  occasion  to  make  use  of  them. 

One  word  more.  Hundreds  of  times,  during  our  try- 
ing passage,  I  had  reflected  upon  the  delightful  feelings 
of  gratitude  I  should  experience,  on  being  permitted, 
once  more,  to  put  my  foot  on  dry  land.  I  had  suf- 
fered nothing  from  sea-sickness,  but  my  soul  was.  weary 
within  me,  as  weeks  and  months  slowly  passed.  And 
now,  here  I  was  in  Boston,  safe  and  sound  ;  but,  alas  ! 
m^y  heart  appeared  almost  callous,  in  view  of  the  Di- 
vine goodness  which  had  brought  mie,  after  all,  so  safe 
and  so  well  in  body,  to  this  distant  shore.  I  was 
ashamed  of  the  insensibility  of  my  heart,  and  learned 
the  humbling  lesson,  that  no  outward  blessing  will  be 
sufficient  to  raise  the  emotion  of  gratitude  in  our  per- 
verse hearts.  The  grateful  acknowledgment  of  each 
gift  received  is  but  another,  and  still  higher  gift  of  the 
same  Giver. 

As  my  funds  were  low,  I  took  lodgings  in  a  sailors' 
boarding-house  near  the  water.  Fortunately,  the  inner 
one  of  the  rooms  where  I  had  my  couch,  was  unoccu- 
pied by  any  other  person,  so  that,  although  I  hired 
only  a  ded,  I  had,  in  fact,  a  room.     I  immediately  in- 


Life  at  Andover.  39 

qnired  for  the  Missionary  Rooms  (as  they  were  then 
called),  and  saw  Mr.  Evarts,  the  Secretary,  and  Mr.  An- 
derson, who  was  then  a  young  laborer  in  the  Rooms. 
The  reception  given  me  was  cool  and  reserved,  but 
courteous.  I  was  not  disappointed,  for  I  could  expect 
no  more.  Mr.  Evarts  seemed  to  fear  that  I  would  ex- 
pect help  from  the  American  Board,  and  informed  me 
that  they  did  not  educate  young  men  for  the  mission- 
ary work.  I  told  him  I  knew  it,  and  expected  nothing 
from  them  beyond  their  kind  advice. 

Being  asked  what  my  ideas  were,  I  replied  that  I 
had  thought  I  might  find  some  minister  of  the  Gospel, 
with  a  family,  whose  children  I  might  instruct,  thus 
paying  for  my  board  while  under  his  guidance,  and  by 
means  of  his  library  I  should  acquire  such  an  education 
as  might  be  needed  for  my  contemplated  missionary 
work.  This  done,  I  should  earn  a  passage  back  to  the 
East,  and  return,  as  I  came,  upon  my  own  responsibil- 
ity. I  was  fully  aware  that  a  stranger  like  myself  had 
no  claims  upon  any  one,  and  I  expected  nothing  be- 
yond the  help  above  mentioned,  for  which  I  wished  to 
make  return.  Mr.  Evarts  replied  that  this  was  not 
the  way  of  doing  such  things  in  America ;  that  I 
should  find  no  such  Gospel  minister,  and  that  he  ad- 
vised me  to  go  up  to  Andover,  and  see  the  Professors 
there. 

Aware  that  my  money  would  go  fast,  I  also  looked 
about  for  work  at  my  trade.  One  of  the  instrument- 
makers  was  willing  to  employ  me  at  six  dollars  a  week 
to  begin  with,  expecting  to  increase  my  pay,  if  I  proved 
to  be  entitled  to  more.     As  a  man  like  myself  could 


40  Autobiography. 

then  live  comfortably  on  three  dollars  a  week  In  Bos- 
ton, I  saw  that  my  living  was  secured. 

November  17th  I  went  up  to  Andover  by  the  stage, 
furnished  with  a  letter  of  introduction  from  Mr.  Ander- 
son to  the  Professors.  On  my  arrival  in  Boston,  I  had 
needed  shoes  and  a  few  other  trifles,  and  thus  my  ten 
dollars  had  grown  sensibly  less.  In  order  not  to  leave 
behind  me  my  last  farthing,  I  offered  to  leave  with  my 
landlord  my  traveling  bed  and  leather  pillow,  for  my 
board  and  lodging,  in  case  I  should  not  come  back,  he 
being  pledged  at  the  same  time,  to  send  me  my  trunk, 
if  I  should  write  for  it.  He  cheerfully  consented.  It 
is  now  more  than  thirty-four  years  since  I  made  this  bar- 
gain, and  I  never,  during  all  this  long  period,  stopped  to 
think  of  it  again  until  this  moment.  The  mattress 
being  one  of  pure  Russian  horse-hair,  and  the  pillow  the 
same,  covered  with  green  morocco  leather,  I  think  I 
must  have  paid  at  least  five  times  the  value  of  my 
lodgings. 

The  morning  after  my  arrival  at  Andover,  I  called  on 
the  three  Professors,  viz.,  Professor  Stuart,  and  Doctors 
Woods  and  Porter.  I  had  my  Oriental  letters  of  intro- 
duction with  me.  Professor  Stuart  received  me  with  a 
kind  of  frank  enthusiasm,  he  being  a  German  scholar 
and  full  of  admiration  for  German  erudition.  At  the 
home  of  Dr.  Woods,  who  treated  me  with  his  habitual 
kindness,  the  children  were  so  amused  at  my  outlandish 
appearance,  in  my  gray  Russian  broadcloth  cloak,  and 
with  my  German  accent,  that  they  lost  their  gravity 
entirely.  At  this  I  was  much  amused.  Dr.  Porter 
looked  at  me  with  a  searching  eye.     He  seemed  to  sus- 


Life  at  Andover.  .41 

pect  In  me  a  religious  vagabond,  or  at  best  an  unprac- 
tical enthusiast.     But  he  was  polite,  and  even  kind. 

I  felt  no  disposition  to  wonder  at  the  scrutinizing 
looks  and  questions  of  the  Doctor.  Indeed,  when  I 
considered  my  position  as  a  stranger  coming  from  afar, 
professing  to  seek  an  education  for  a  missionary  life, 
intending  to  return  to  Turkey  without  patronage  by 
any  society,  bringing  with  me  extravagant  letters  of 
recommendation  from  a  kind,  but  very  eccentric  Jewish 
missionary  tourist,  I  rather  wondered  that  these  good, 
reasonable,  and  careful  people  did  not  turn  their  backs 
upon  me  at  once.  Of  course,  my  replies  to  their  many 
questions  were  all  well-considered  and  moderate.  The 
encomiums  bestowed  upon  me,  in  the  letters  of  Mr. 
Wolff,  I  carefully  deprecated,  both  from  honesty  and 
prudence. 

There  was  then  a  young  Jewish  convert  studying 
theology  in  Andover.  He  was  an  English  Jew,  but 
had  been  in  Italy,  and  spoke  the  Italian  language 
fluently.  Professor  Stuart  sent  for  him  at  once,  while 
I  was  in  his  study,  both  that  I  might  make  his  acquaint- 
ance, and  that  he  might  serve  as  an  interpreter  for  me 
through  the  medium  of  the  Italian  language,  which  I 
also  spoke  with  ease.  His  name  was  Abraham,  and  he 
was  in  the  Junior  class.  He  took  me  over  to  the  Semi- 
nary building,  introduced  me  to  his  room-mate,  Mr. 
Babbitt,  and  gave  up  his  room  to  me  for  the  time 
being. 

The  result  of  my  visit  to  the  Professors  was,  simply, 
that  they  advised  me  to  stay  in  the  Seminary,  until  they 
should  come  to  a  conclusion  in  my  case.      I  also  called 


42  Autobiography. 

upon  the  treasurer  of  the  Seminary,  "  Squire"  Farrar, 
who  gave  me  the  same  advice.  I  told  him  I  should 
not  be  able  to  pay  my  board,  unless  I  found  work  im- 
mediately. He  smiled,  and  said  that  would  be  seen  to, 
and  I  had  better  wait  the  Professors'  time. 

Mr.  Wolff  in  his  letters  had  not  failed  to  speak  of  my 
flute.  I  was  consequently  invited  into  the  Lockhardt 
Society  meetings.  Before  being  invited  there,  I  was 
induced  several  times  to  play,  and  as  I  still  had  perfect 
control  of  the  instrument,  it  produced  an  effect  upon 
the  listeners  which  quite  surprised  me.  The  fact  was 
that,  although  there  were  quite  a  number  of  students  who 
pretended  to  play  this  instrument,  there  was  not  one 
who  had  even  an  idea  of  what  could  be  done  with  it.  I 
have  reason  to  believe  there  had  never  been  'Agood  flute- 
player  in  that  part  of  America.  They  seemed  aston- 
ished at  the  power  of  the  instrument  and  the  variety 
of  its  sounds.  Messrs.  Albro  and  Phelps,  of  the  Senior 
class,  the  former  of  whom  w^as  president  of  the  Lock- 
hardt Society,  congratulated  themselves  that  I  should 
always  be  at  their  gatherings.  I  told  them  that  would 
not  be  the  case,  for  even  if  I  stayed  in  the  Seminary,  I 
should  have  to  sell  my  flute,  in  order  to  be  able  to 
get  the  books  necessary  for  the  prosecution  of  my 
studies.  Mr.  Albro  then  made,  me  promise  that  I 
would  not  sell  it  without  letting  him  know.  Day  after 
day  glided  away,  and  at  last  the  Professors  advised  me 
to  spend  a  preparatory  year  in  the  Seminary,  to  study 
Greek  and  Hebrew,  and  then  to  enter  the  Seminary. 
Now  I  had  two  things  to  do.  1st.  To  sell  my  flute  ; 
2d.  To  find  work,  that   I  might  earn  enough   to  pay 


Life  at  Andover.  43 

my  board.  A  turner  and  cabinet-maker  in  the  village, 
Mr.  Flint,  engaged  me  to  turn  bedposts  for  him,  this 
being  the  best  work  of  that  kind  which  the  village 
afforded. 

Knowing  that  my  flute  must  be  sold,  Mr.  Albro  one 
day  sent  Mr.  Stearns  (afterwards  Pastor  of  the  Old 
South  Church)  to  summon  me  to  his  room  with  the  in- 
strument. There  were  several  students  there.  Albro 
asked  me  what  I  would  take  for  the  flute.  I  said 
twenty  dollars.  He  handed  me  a  roll  of  bills,  and  took 
the  instrument.  On  finding  fifty  dollars  in  my  hands,  I 
told  him  this  was  too  much,  and  tried  to  hand  him  back 
the  balance,  but  he  and  the  others  urged  me  to  keep 
the  money.  I  observed  that  I  should  have  need  of  it, 
certainly,  but  that  I  should  consider  thirty  dollars  a 
present,  for  which  I  was  much  obliged  to  Mr.  Albro. 
When  I  put  the  money  in  my  pocket,  and  considered 
myself  to  have  bidden  farewell  to  my  flute  and  to 
music  for  life,  Mr.  Albro  took  the  flute,  and  handing 
it  back  to  me  said  :  "  In  the  name  of  the  brethren  of 
the  Seminary,  I  beg  you  to  keep  your  flute,  as  a  token 
of  affectionate  remembrance  from  them." 

My  surprise  was  great.  The  fact  was,  the  students 
(at  least  a  number  of  them)  had  held  a  meeting  on  the 
subject,  and  concluded,  as  many  as  were  able,  to  con- 
tribute a  dollar  apiece  to  the  object,  thus  aiding  me 
and  saving  my  flute.  I  need  hardly  say  that  I  kept 
the  instrument,  played  regularly  in  the  gallery  on  the 
Sabbath,  and  appeared  as  regularly  at  the  musical 
meetings  of  the  Lockhardt  Society,  where  I  spent 
many  a  pleasant  evening  in  sacred  music. 


44  Autobiography. 

On  the  6th  of  December  I  began  to  work  in  Mr. 
Flint's  shop,  my  plan  being  to  work  only  during  the 
afternoons,  by  which  I  thought  I  could  earn  enough 
to  pay  my  expenses. 

On  the  7th  I  moved  into  the  room  of  Mr.  H.  G.  O. 
Dvvight,  whose  room-mate  was  absent,  and  with  whom 
I  was  afterward  associated  on  missionary  ground  for 
thirty  years. 

It  would  fill  a  volume  if  I  were  to  review  in  detail 
my  five  years  at  Andover.  But  a  few  of  the  leading 
features  and  events  of  this  important  period  of  my  life 
I  must  record.  Nothing  could  be  more  striking  than 
the  change  of  my  situation  since  the  beginning  of  this 
year  (1826).  Especially  great  and  delightful  was  the 
contrast  of  my  present  condition,  surrounded,  as  I  was, 
by  pious  people,  and  blessed  to  overflowing  with  re- 
ligious privileges,  as  compared  with  my  surroundings 
in  Turkey,  and  my  barren  four  months  of  sea  life. 
Though  not  a  member  of  the  Seminary,  I  was  invari- 
ably present  at  morning  and  evening  prayers,  at  other 
evening  meetings  in  the  lower  lecture-rooms,  prayer- 
meetings  in  the  rooms  of  students,  and  in  the  parlor  of 
Dr.  Porter,  where  some  students  and  neighbors  used 
to  meet.  I  considered  these  privileges  too  precious  to 
be  lost.  At  the  same  time,  the  course  of  life  upon 
which  I  had  entered  appeared  to  me  so  responsible, 
and  all  around  me  so  superior  to  me  in  their  religious 
character,  and  I  seemed  to  myself  so  unwise,  and  so 
distracted  and  unguarded  in  my  mind  and  my  deport- 
ment, that  I  often  secretly  wondered  how  they  could 
endure  my  presence,  why  they  did  not  tell  me  to  return 


Life  at  Andover.  45 

to  my  old  trade,  and  not  to  aspire  to  teach  others  the 
way  of  life,  of  which  I  knew  so  little  myself,  if  any- 
thing at  all.  As  it  was,  however,  nobody  appeared  to 
see  my  faults  and  failings,  which  undoubtedly  existed. 
On  the  contrary,  there  were  many  who  wanted  to  give 
me  money,  and  otherwise  to  help  me,  so  that  I  began 
to  feel  decidedly  anxious  lest  I  should  be  spoiled  by 
their  kindness,  and  become  a  selfish,  grasping,  self- 
indulging  hypocrite.  I  therefore  declined,  whenever  it 
was  offered,  what  I  did  not  absolutely  need. 

December  24th  I  enjoyed  my  first  communion  sea- 
son since  leaving  Russia.  It  was  blessed  to  me,  though 
the  remarks  made  on  the  occasion  seemed  to  me  to  be 
dry  and  legal. 

The  31st  was  Sunday,  and  I  had,  therefore,  a  quiet 
opportunity  for  reviewing  the  year  just  closing.  Noth- 
ing could  be  plainer  than  that  the  Lord  had  led  me  in 
a  way  that  I  knew  not,  and  that  I  was  solemnly  called 
upon  to  prepare  for  service  such  as  He  had  laid  out 
for  me,  not  such  as  I  had  contemplated.  My  impres- 
sions of  unfitness  were  often  overwhelming,  and  a  Ger- 
man diary  which  I  then  kept,  but  which  I  do  not  in- 
tend to  leave  behind  me,  contains  many  a  sad  groan, 
in  view  of  my  shortcomings,  and  at  the  same  time, 
many  a  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  Divine  long- 
suffering  and  forbearance  with  such  an  unprofitable 
vessel  as  I  was. 

January  loth  Mr.  Strale,  a  Swede,  and  a  student  in 
the  Senior  class,  brought  me  the  news  from  Boston,  that 
the  *'  Ladies'  Society  for  Promoting  Christianity  among 
the  Jews"  wouldniefray  my  expenses  for  three  months. 


46  "Autobiography. 

I  immediately  gave  up  working  for  Mr.  Flint,  and  de- 
voted myself  entirely  to  study.  Thus  far  I  had  car- 
ried on  the  study  of  Greek,  and  kept  on  reading  Latin. 
Now  I  devoted  my  afternoons  to  the  study  of  Hebrew. 

Before  I  pass  to  the  year  1827,  I  must  observe  that 
when  I  came  to  America,  I  found  the  land  abounding 
with  revivals.  This  was  a  perfect  delight  to  me.  These 
revivals  continued  through  the  entire  five  years  I  spent 
in  the  countiy.  In  April,  1827,  I  found  revivals  re- 
corded as  having  taken  place  during  the  preceding  six 
months,  in  ten  States,  in  197  cities  and  towns,  in  three 
places  in  the  Canadas,  and  in  six  colleges,  not  reckon- 
ing Amherst  College,  where,  about  a  year  before,  a  re- 
vival had  taken  place.  After  my  arrival  I  was  often 
asked  about  the  religious  state  of  Europe,  and  the 
stories  I  could  tell  of  our  South  Russia  revival  so  in- 
terested the  students  and  others,  that  I  was  requested 
to  commit  them  to  writing.  This  I  did,  and  the  article 
was  copied  into  many  newspapers.  They  seemed  to 
think  in  America  that  there  were  no  revivals  anywhere 
except  there.  One  of  the  most  common  impressions 
people  received  or  cherished  about  me  was,  that  I  had 
come  to  the  United  States  entirely  benighted,  and  had 
found  the  Pearl  of  Great  Price  there,  where  alone  it 
could  be  found. 

I  pursued  my  studies  with  German  diligence.  I 
studied  Latin,  Greek,  and  Hebrew  at  the  same  time, 
and  generally  sat  some  fourteen  or  sixteen  hours  a  day 
over  my  books.  When  I  began  these  studies,  I  thought 
I  might  get  so  far  in  Greek  and  Hebrew  as  to  spell  out 
texts  in  the  original  by  the  help  of  lexicon  and  com- 


Life  at  Andover.  47 

mentaries.  But  as  soon  as  I  had  obtained  some  insight 
into  the  matter,  I  concluded  to  get  the  Greek  and 
Hebrew  thoroughly,  and  to  add  to  the  latter  the  other 
Semitic  languages.  Before  going  to  classical  Greek 
I  read  the  whole  Greek  New  Testament  through,  and 
committed  the  whole  "lexicon"  of  that  book  to  mem- 
ory. My  teacher  in  Greek  was  the  present  Rev.  Pro- 
fessor Calvin  Stowe,  of  Andover,  who  was  then  a 
student  in  the  Middle  class.  In  return  I  assisted  him 
in  the  difficulties  he  encountered  in  the  German.  He 
was  then  engaged  in  translating  theological  works  from 
that  language  into  English. 

I  carried  through  the  plan  of  study  which  I  had  laid 
out  for  myself  after  I  became  acquainted  with  the  task 
to  be  accomplished,  and  the  means  within  my  reach. 
To  be  brief  :  aside  from  the  study  of  Greek  and 
Hebrew  and  general  classical  reading,  I  studied  Chal- 
dee,  Syriac,  Arabic,  Samaritan,  Rabbinic,  Persian,  Turk- 
ish, and  Spanish ;  and  in  order  to  be  somewhat  pre- 
pared for  going  to  Africa,  perhaps  to  Egypt,  I  ex- 
tracted, and  wrote  out  pretty  fully  the  Ethiopic  and 
Coptic  grammars.  For  from  three  to  four  years  I  read 
much  Arabic,  Syriac,  Chaldee,  and  Rabbinic.  For 
some  years  I  read  the  Syriac  New  Testament  and 
Psalms,  (of  which  I  had  procured  copies,)  in  my  private 
devotions,  instead  of  the  German  or  English.  In  Ara- 
bic I  read  a  considerable  part  of  the  Koran,  the  Moolla- 
kat  and  Hamasa  poems,  not  to  speak  of  easier  Arabic. 

The  Chaldee  "  Targums,"  or  translations  of  the  books 
of  the  Old  Testament,  Rabbinic  commentaries,  and,  to 
some  extent,   the   corrupt   medireval    Chaldee  of    the 


48  Autobiography. 

Book  of  John,  occupied  also  a  considerable  part  of 
my  leisure  hours.  In  Spanish,  Turkish,  and  Persian 
I  did  not  do  much ;  in  the  latter  two  languages  I 
studied  fully  the  grammars,  and  read  easy  texts,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  enter  into  Oriental  classes  in  Paris  with 
advantage,  if  I  should  be  sent  to  that  city  before  pro- 
ceeding to  my  mission.* 

In  order  to  keep  my  mind  concentrated  upon  what  it 
seemed  to  be  my  duty  and  privilege  to  acquire,  I  had 
resolved  to  abstain  from  all  miscellaneous  reading 
through  the  five  years  of  my  residence  at  Andover.  I 
hardly  looked  at  a  newspaper ;  I  never  inquired  into  the 
condition  of  the  world,  or  the  course  of  events.  I  was 
entirely  ignorant  of  the  French  Revolution  of  1 830, 
which  dethroned  Charles  X.  of  France,  and  when  I 
reached  France,  in  December,  1831,  it  was  complete 
news  to  me  that  Louis  Philippe  was  on  the  throne. 

But  my  constitution  was  severely  tried  by  this  unre- 
mitted application.  In  five  years  I  had  allowed  myself 
only  one  or  two  vacations.     During  all  the  rest  of  the 


*  Of  course,  I  had  no  teacher  in  any  of  these  languages  or 
dialects  (Hebrew  and  Greek  excepted),  but  got  them  out  of 
books.  There  was,  however,  a  good  supply  of  helps  in  the 
Andover  library,  and  as  I  labored  there  for  some  time  as  assist- 
ant librarian,  (for  which  I  was  paid,)  I  had  the  key,  and  spent 
many  an  afternoon  in  that  place.  I  received  and  entered  in 
the  great  catalogue  about  10,000  volumes,  which  Professor 
Robinson  had  bought  in  Germany,  My  acquaintance  with  the 
various  languages,  enabling  me  to  abridge  properly  the  long 
and  complicated  title-pages  of  old  works,  was  now  turned  to 
profitable  account,  and  I  made  the  acquaintance  of  many  an 
author,  and  many  a  subject  of  research,  in  this  way. 


Life  at  Andover. 


49 


time  I  had  kept  on  steadily  in  the  above  pursuits.  My 
regular  recreation  consisted  in  going  out  for  a  few  days 
to  Lowell,  or  some  other  place  blessed  with  the  out- 
pouring of  the  Divine  Spirit,  there  to  labor.  From 
revival  labors,  such  as  I  could  perform,  1  returned  with 
fresh  zest  to  my  professional  studies. 

Having  referred  to  the  American  revivals  which  then 
swept  over  the  land  almost  like  a  prairie-fire,  I  may  as 
well  dwell  for  a  moment  upon  them.  It  was  a  year,  I 
believe,  before  my  arrival  in  America,  that  the  revival 
commenced  in  Lowell,  an  entirely  new  manufacturing 
village  without  a  minister  or  a  meeting-house.  The 
labors  of  faithful  laymen  recently  settled  there  were 
blessed.  Preaching  was  supplied  by  neighboring  minis- 
ters and  by  students  from  Andover,  as  either  could  be 
obtained.  When  no  supply  could  be  procured,  the  lay 
brethren  conducted  the  services,  which  were  held  in  a 
large  two-story  school-house.  In  that  school-house  I 
made  my  first  remarks  in  public,  under  very  trying  cir- 
cumstances. Whether  anybody  understood  a  word  of 
what  I  said,  I  am  not  sure.  I  went  out  one  Saturday 
afternoon  with  a  student  of  the  Middle  class,  by  the 
name  of  Sanford,  an  excellent  brother,  but  very  im- 
pulsive. He  was  to  conduct  the  services  if  no  regular 
minister  should  be  found.  On  the  way  he  spoke  to  me 
about  taking  some  part.  I  told  him  that  he  knew  my 
knowledge  of  the  language  was  very  imperfect,  that  I 
should  not  wish  to  do  any  harm,  but  that  if  he  really 
thought  that  I  could  do  any  good,  I  was  willing  to  try. 
When  we  arrived  at  Lowell,  we  found  there  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Ingraham,  from  Bradford,  who  preached,  forenoon 
3 


50  Autobiography. 

and  afternoon,  powerful  sermons,  to  crowded  and  sol- 
emn congregations.  There  was  to  be  a  meeting  in  the 
evening  at  the  same  place,  and,  feeling  able  to  do  it, 
Mr.  Ingraham  concluded  to  hold  it  himself.  Mr.  San- 
ford  had  repeated  to  me  that  if  he  was  to  hold  the 
evening  meeting,  he  would  expect  me  to  say  a  few 
words.  But  he  was  now  excused.  The  house  was  so 
crowded — aisles,  staircase,  and  all — that  we,  and  as  many- 
more  as  could  get  in,  were  crowded  into  the  pulpit.  Mr. 
Ingraham  delivered  a  most  powerful  address  from  Isaiah 
Ixiii.  I  whispered  to  Mr.  Sanford,  "  I  think  we  will 
keep  quiet  this  time,"  to  which  he  nodded  assent.  But 
when  Mr.  Ingraham  was  done,  he  turned  and  said,  "  Mr. 
Sanford,  will  you  add  a  few  remarks  ?  "  Sanford  sprang 
to  his  feet,  and,  bending  over  the  pulpit,  said,  "  There 
is  surely  no  need  to  add  anything  to  the  solemn  truths 
already  presented,  but  there  is  a  brother  from  Europe 
— from  Russia — in  the  pulpit,  and  I  doubt  not  the 
audience  would  be  pleased  to  listen  to  some  testimony 
from  him,"  and  then  he  sat  down.  I  was  thus  obliged 
to  rise  and  speak,  without  preparation,  in  a  foreign 
tongue,  to  an  unknown  audience,  in  a  blazing  revival, 
and  at  the  close  of  a  most  solemn  address.  But  I  did 
it !  The  greatness  of  the  occasion  lifted  me  above  my- 
self. I  spoke  briefly  of  the  comparatively  barren  state 
of  Europe ;  of  the  privileges  enjoyed  by  all,  converted 
and  unconverted,  amid  the  revivals  of  America,  and 
rolled  the  responsibility  of  accepting  the  invitations  of 
mercy  upon  the  impenitent  in  the  audience. 

This  was  the   first  time  I  had  ever  spoken  in  public. 
The  ice  was  broken.     I  have  never  shrunk  since  from 


Life  at  Andover.  51 

any  call  made  on  me  in  my  public  capacity,  nor  from 
the  use  of  any  language,  though  but  half  known  to 
me.  I  shall  ever  remember  Lowell  with  a  peculiar 
and  tender  interest.  I  often  went  there,  when  tired 
and  worn  out  with  my  studies,  to  get  refreshed  again 
in  the  revival  air  which  I  never  failed  to  find  there. 
The  fact  was,  that  as  soon  as  I  drew  near  Lowell,  and 
when  I  saw  the  place  afar  off,  I  used  to  forget  all  my 
Hebrew  vowel-points  and  accents,  all  my  Syriac  and 
Arabic,  all  my  Rabbinic  nonsense,  and  all  my  theolog- 
ical speculations ;  and  as  soon  as  I  arrived,  would 
plunge  right  into  the  realities  of  experimental  religion 
and  piety,  and  real  life  and  labor,  to  save  sinners. 


CHAPTER  V. 

LAST   DAYS  AT  ANDOVER— LIFE   IN   PARIS. 

I  HAVE  been  brief  on  the  subject  of  my  residence 
and  my  studies  and  labors  in  America,  because  the 
life  of  a  student  is  naturally  uniform.  The  time  now 
drew  near  when  I  expected  to  leave  America,  without 
any  hope  of  returning.  My  ideas  of  a  missionary  life 
were  not  much  americanized.  It  seemed  to  me  that 
the  simplest  way  was  for  a  missionary  to  go  to  his 
work,  labor  as  long  as  he  could,  and  when  his  time 
came,  to  lie  down  and  die,  and  go  to  his  rest.  To  travel 
across  land  and  sea  in  search  of  health,  would  have  ap- 
peared to  me  to  be  placing  too  high  an  estimate  on 
one's  own  life. 

I  had  resolved  to  become  a  missionary  to  the  Jews. 
But  though  I  differed  very  essentially  from  my  former 
companion,  Mr.  Wolff,  as  to  the  manner  of  laboring 
among  this  people,  still,  considering  their  scattered 
condition,  I  expected  to  spend  my  life  in  traveling,  and 
consequently  had  resolved  to  remain  single,  calculating 
on  about  ten  years  of  life  and  labor.  I  therefore 
not  only  formed  no  acquaintance  with  any  view  to 
change  my  state,  but  I  conscientiously  improved  every 
opportunity  I  had  of  making  known  my  intention  to 
go  out  single.  Not  that  I  was  insensible  to  the  many 
pious,  intelligent,  and  devoted  persons,  some  one  of 
(52) 


Last  Days  at  Andover. 


53 


whom  might  have  been  willing  to  share  the  trials  of  a 
missionary  life  with  me  ;   but  my  self-consecration  to 
the  missionary  work  was  made,  and   it  was  intended 
and  professed  to  be  a  whole  burnt-offering,  and   there- 
fore  nothing   of   it    remained  to   me   for  private  use. 
However,  when  I  mentioned  my  views  to  Mr.  Ander- 
son, he  objected  to   my  idea  of  constantly  traveling, 
and  intimated  that  I  should  have  to  settle  somewhere. 
"  Traveling,"  he  said,  "  resulted  in  interesting  incidents, 
and  furnished  matter  for  stirring  letters,  but  was  barren 
in  mature  results,  and  one  soul  saved  was  worth  more 
than  all  the  interesting  letters  in  the  world."      This 
view  seemed  to  me  sound,  especially  as  a  permanent 
residence  did  not  preclude  traveling,  and   missionary 
tours,  when  they  promised  good  results.     I  consented 
to  follow  the  plan   the   Prudential  Committee  should 
approve  in  this  respect.     Not  expecting  to  cross  the 
ocean  again  after  having  reached  my  field  of  labor,  I 
now  naturally  thought  of  going  out  married.     When, 
however,  I  conversed  with  Mr.  Anderson   on  the  sub- 
ject, he  seemed  rather  to  disrelish  the  idea.      He  in- 
quired whether  I  had  any  engagement,  or  any  person 
in  view,  and  hearing  that  I  had  not,  he  remarked  that  I 
should  have  to  travel  about  in  the  East  for  some  two 
years,  to  select  the  best  place  for  a  settlement ;  that  if 
I  wished  to  marry,  there  was  no  objection,  but  that  I 
should  have  to  leave  my  wife  in  Malta,  until  I  should 
settle   permanently.      To  travel   about   the  Orient  at 
that  time,  with  plague  and  war  everywhere,  leaving  a 
young   wife    "mourning   in    secret   places"   in   Malta, 
seemed  to  me  unreasonable,  if  not  unfair.     I  therefore 


54  Autobiography. 

concluded  to  go  alone,  leaving  the  Lord  to  provide  a 
companion  for  me  should  I  survive,  and  if  it  was  His 
will.  How  this  was  indeed  accomplished  a  few  years 
later,  will  appear  as  my  narrative  proceeds. 

I  do  not  remember  how  long  it  was  before  my  de- 
parture from  America,  that  I  was  invited  to  preach  in 
Park  Street  Church,  Boston,  but  it  was  certainly  sev- 
eral months.  Some  of  my  friends  had  suggested  my 
preaching  there,  while  others  in  that  church  thought 
they  would  probably  not  understand  the  foreigner. 
However,  they  at  last  consented  that  I  should  try  it. 
Park  Street  Church  and  congregation  had  had  no  set- 
tled pastor  for  some  time,  because  the  pretensions  of 
some  of  the  members  were  so  high,  and  their  tastes 
so  fastidious,  that  no  one  was  good  enough  for  them. 
What  gave  me  favor  in  their  sight  is  a  mystery  to  me 
to  this  day,  for  my  English  was  certainly  somewhat 
foreign  to  native  ears,  and  my  sermons  were  all  very 
plain,  written  almost  entirely  for  revival  seasons,  with- 
out anything  like  finish  in  composition  or  rhetoric. 
But  so  it  was.  From  my  first  sermon,  I  was  invited  to 
preach  there  statedly  during  the  remainder  of  my  stay 
in  America.  Some  of  the  members  of  that  body,  (not 
my  personal  friends,)  even  talked  of  giving  me  a  call^ 
but  my  pre-engagement  as  a  missionary  was  in  the  way. 

During  my  last  year  at  Andover,  where  I  was  invited  by 
the  Faculty  to  stay  as  an  "  Abbot  resident,"  I  preached 
in  the  Seminary  chapel  the  whole  number  of  sermons 
required  by  the  regulations  of  the  Seminary  in  such  a 
case.  I  was  told  by  the  Professors  that  I  was  the  first 
licentiate  who  ever  did  it.     All  my  predecessors  had 


Last  Days  at  Andover.  55 

contrived  to  get  excused,  more  or  less,  from  what  they 
considered  an  unpleasant  duty.  To  me  it  was  a  real 
pleasure,  for  I  loved  the  students  sincerely,  as  well  as 
the  children  of  the  Professors  ;  and  as  to  the  Profes- 
sors themselves,  I  considered  them  reasonable  Christian 
men,  who  would  relish  plain  Gospel  truths,  in  unpre- 
tending garb,  much  better  than  labored  pulpit  compo- 
sitions. And  in  this  I  was  not  mistaken.  In  fact,  they 
asked  me  to  preach  a  farewell  sermon,  in  addition  to 
my  appointed  number,  before  leaving. 

After  an  affectionate  parting  from  all  the  families  on 
the  Andover  hill,  I  left  the  institution,  expecting  to  see 
it  no  more, 

I  was  ordained  a  missionary  to  the  Jews  in  Turkey, 
at  Park  Street  Church,  Boston,  on  the  evening  of  the 
14th  of  November,  1831.  Prof.  Stuart,  of  Andover, 
preached  the  sermon ;  Rev.  Dr.  Jenks  delivered  the 
charge ;  Rev.  Wm.  Adams  (then  of  Brighton,  now  pas- 
tor of  the  Madison  Square  Presbyterian  Church,  New 
York,  a  classmate  of  mine  in  the  Seminary),  gave  me 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship  ;  the  ordaining  prayer  was 
made,  I  believe,  by  Dr.  Fay. 

During  my  licentiate  year  at  Andover,  Mr.  Robinson 
(now  Prof.  Robinson  of  the  Union  Theological  Sem- 
inary, New  York),  returned  from  Europe,  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  as  Professor  Extraordinary,  taking  the 
Hebrew  department.  The  Junior  class  he  had  to  in- 
struct, had  been  prepared  by  me  for  entering  upon  the 
Junior  year,  for  the  Faculty  had  decided  to  raise  the 
standard  of  Hebrew  in  the  Seminary,  and  therefore 
they  required  what  had  to  be  abandoned  afterward,  a 


56  Autobiography. 

thorough  knowledge  of  Hebrew  grammar,  and  no  in- 
considerable portion  of  Hebrew  reading. 

This  class  I  was  invited  to  instruct  during  the  vaca- 
tion before  their  first  term.  The  class  was  large,  but 
they  were  a  body  of  young  men  of  remarkable  gifts, 
and  I  succeeded  completely  in  their  preparation. 
After  Prof.  Robinson  had  commenced  his  instruction, 
he  was  several  times  seized  with  very  alarming  attacks, 
which,  indeed,  seemed  to  threaten  his  life.  I  was, 
therefore,  again  invited  to  take  charge  of  the  Hebrew 
department.  This  gave  me  great  satisfaction,  not  only 
in  view  of  my  enthusiastic  love  for  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage, but  because  I  had  become  attached  to  these 
young  brethren. 

Meanwhile,  I  had  also  become  better  acquainted  with 
Prof.  Robinson  and  his  German  wife.  He  had,  while 
in  Europe,  studied  the  Arabic  language  under  the  cel- 
ebrated Sylvestre  De  Sacy,  at  Paris.  When  he  heard 
to  what  extent  I  had  carried  on  the  study  of  the  Arabic 
and  other  Semitic  languages  by  myself,  he  advised  the 
Prudential  Committee,  without  my  knowledge  of  the 
fact,  to  send  me  to  Paris  on  my  way  to  Turkey,  saying 
that  I  was  far  better  prepared  to  profit  by  the  privi- 
leges there,  than  many  others. 

The  Prudential  Committee  of  the  American  Board 
of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  who  had  taken 
the  first  step  in  inviting  me  to  enter  into  their  service, 
(for  I  never  thought  of  offering  myself,  strange  to  tell,) 
now  offered  me  the  opportunity  of  going  to  Paris  for 
some  months  at  least,  to  attend  Arabic  and  Turkish 
lectures.    With  this  I  was,  naturally,  very  much  pleased, 


Life  in  Paris.  57 

and  at  once  devoted  myself  to  such  preparation  in 
these  two  languages  as  should  enable  me  to  take  my 
place  in  the  classes.  Little  did  I  think  that  before  get- 
ting through  those  lectures  in  Paris,  I  should  be  the  only 
student  left  in  the  department  of  those  two  languages  ! 

Passing  over  in  silence  my  parting  from  friends,  and 
my  departure  from  the  United  States,  that  land  to 
which  I  had  been  so  mysteriously  led  in  the  providence 
of  God,  and  where  I  had  been  so  tenderly  cared  for, 
and  so  richly  blessed,  an  uneventful  voyage  to  Havre 
by  sailing  packet,  brought  me  to  new  scenes  in  the  gay 
capital  of  France.  Knowing  nothing  of,  and  caring 
nothing  for,  the  ordinary  attractions  of  the  place,  I 
first  sought  my  schools  and  teachers. 

I  studied  Arabic  with  the  famous  Sylvestre  De  Sacy. 
With  him  I  also  pursued  my  Persian.  I  read  Turkish 
with  Prof.  Kieffer,  the  translator  of  the  Bible  into 
that  language.  The  Turkish  and  Persian  lectures  were 
held  in  the  "  Bibliotheque  du  Roi,"  and  the  Arabic,  in 
the  ''  Institut  de  France  pour  les  langues  Orientales 
vivantes." 

I  felt  it  a  burning  shame  that  such  Professors,  lectur- 
ing gratis,  should  find  so  little  encouragement.  In 
the  Persian  lectures  there  were  only  two  pupils  besides 
myself,  and  they  knew  very  little,  and  soon  stayed 
away  ;  and  in  the  Turkish  lectures  I  was  also  soon  the 
sole  attendant.  In  the  Arabic  lectures  of  De  Sacy 
there  were  some  half  a  dozen  comers,  only  07te,  I  be- 
lieve, a  Frenchman.  I  remember  two  Poles,  one  of 
whom  was  Kasimirsky,  afterward  the  translator  of  the 
Koran  into  French. 

3* 


58  Autobiography. 

When  I  arrived  at  Paris,  I  addressed  myself  to  an 
American  house,  to  which  I  was  recommended,  the 
name  of  one  of  the  firm  being  John  H.  Stoddard, 
brother  of  the  late  missionary  to  Oroomiah,  an  excel- 
lent, pious  young  man.  I  also  made  the  acquaintance 
of  Dr.  Gurdon  Buck,  then  studying  medicine  there, 
and  now  practicing  in  New  York,  also  a  decidedly 
Christian  man.  And  with  these  brethren  and  some 
others  I  enjoyed  a  prayer-meeting  every  Saturday 
evening.  A  meeting  in  French,  every  Thursday,  was 
held  in  rotation  among  our  brethren  of  that  language, 
at  the  houses  of  Mr.  Henri  Lutteroh,  Rev.  Frederick 
Monod,  and  Rev.  Mark  Wilkes,  which  meeting  I  reg- 
ularly attended,  and  which  I  prized  very  highly.  There 
was  no  lack  of  edification  in  Paris.  At  that  time  the 
Americans  worshiped  in  the  chapel  of  the  so-called 
"  Oratoire,"  a  French  Protestant  church  in  which  the 
Rev.  Frederick  Monod  and  others  preached.  Mr.  Mark 
Wilkes  seemed  to  be  in  charge  of  the  American  service, 
and  as  he  was  in  feeble  health,  and  deeply  engaged  in 
other  evangelical  and  Bible  labors,  he  generally  en- 
gaged me  to  preach  for  him. 

The  following  extracts  from  Dr.  Schauffler's  journal, 
as  found  published  in  the  Missionary  Herald  of  1834,  are 
here  inserted,  to  show  the  life  this  earnest  student  led 
in  Paris,  so  different  from  the  usual  life  of  our  students 
in  European  cities  to-day  : 

''^  March  6,  1832. — Spent  the  forenoon  reading  the 
Koran.  In  the  afternoon  studied  Persian.  About  four 
o'clock  a  young  Moravian  called  to  see  me.  He  is  on 
an  exploring  tour  through  the  North  of  France,  to  see 


Life  in  Paris.  59 

whether  a  Moravian  colony  would  find  a  favorable 
opening  here,  and  is  delighted  with  the  good  people  in 
Paris.  We  had  a  pleasant  and  profitable  conversation 
regarding  the  history,  the  present  state,  and  the  future 
prospects  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  in  all  their  glory 
and  unfailing  certainty.  As  the  good  brother  was  on 
the  point  of  leaving  Paris,  we  could  not  part  without 
committing  one  another  to  God  in  prayer.  This  short 
interview  had  joined  our  hearts. 

^^  March  "jth. — Between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  one  of  the  pupils  of  the  Protestant  Missionary 
Institute  came  to  invite  me  to  a  little  prayer-meeting 
of  pious  young  Swiss.  Most  of  them  have  been  con- 
verted in  this  wicked  city. 

"  March  Zth. — In  the  forenoon  a  lecture  on  the  Koran, 
as  usual.  In  the  afternoon  Mr.  P.  called  again,  and  our 
conversation  turned  immediately  to  subjects  of  practi- 
cal godliness.  He  has  given  up  preaching,  on  account 
of  his  doubts.  I  endeavored  to  show  that  it  was  only 
in  the  path  of  duty  and  faithfulness  he  could  expect  to 
obtain  that  *  certainty  '  (Luke  i.  4)  after  which  he  so 
much  sighs. 

''^  March  (^th, — After  lecture  I  walked  with  my  only  re- 
maining fellow-student  in  Turkish,  and,  our  conversa- 
tion turning  to  serious  things,  I  presented  him  some 
tracts  which  I  had  in  my  pocket.  He  received  them 
gratefully.  Afterwards  I  took  a  walk  alone,  bought  an 
orange  from  a  poor  Provencal,  and  gave  him  some  tracts, 
which  he  received  with  *a  thousand  thanks.'  'I  cannot 
read,*  he  said,  'but  my  wife  can,  and  she  shall  read 
them  to  me  to-night.' 

^^ March  i<)th. — After  lecture  I  went  to  the  Hotel 
Z>ieu,  an  immense  hospital,  opposite  the  Cathedral 
of  Notre  Dame,  to  see  a  sick  German  who  had  sent 
for   me.     I   found   he   had  a  German  Testament,  and 


6o  Autobiography. 

some  tracts,  and  was  quite  inclined  to  talk  about  death 
and  eternity. 

"The  afternoon  was  spent  in  reading  Arabic.  In  the 
evening  I  went  to  a  French  prayer-meeting  in  the  Rue 
Vivienne. 

^^  March  2^th. — About  noon  I  went  to  the  Louvre,  to 
visit  the  gallery  of  paintings,  and  the  museum.  This 
and  some  similar  visits  I  thought  might  be  made  a  law- 
ful relaxation,  when  I  should  feel  worn  out  by  study. 
But,  alas  !  it  is  a  poor  relaxation  for  a  man  half  jaded 
out,  to  pass,  in  one  fleeting  afternoon,  over  some  1,200 
or  more  paintings,  and  above  900  statues  and  bas-reliefs. 
If  he  has  any  taste  for  the  beautiful,  he  may  get  bewil- 
dered and  bewitched  ;  but  to  be  benefited  and  refreshed, 
he  ought  to  have  two  or  three  of  the  best  pieces  in  a 
room  by  themselves,  and  sit  down  to  study  them  at  his 
leisure. 

"As  I  entered  the  gallery,  I  felt  as  though  I  had 
dropped  from  the  clouds.  A  new  world  had  burst  upon 
me  !  Still  my  sensations  were  not  unmingled,  and  while 
I  was  cheered  by  one  piece,  I  was  grieved  by  another  ; 
and,  on  the  whole,  went  away  with  the  impression  that 
the  fine  arts  are,  after  all,  'of  the  earth,  earthy,'  and 
partake  but  too  much  of  the  corruption  of  those  men 
whose  ideals  of  perfection  they  express." 

About  the  26th  of  March,  1832,  in  the  midst  of  the 
most  distracting  carnival  which  even  Parisians  can 
devise,  the  cholera  fell  on  Paris,  and  struck  like  light- 
ning all  over  the  city !  Terror  and  dismay  seized  the 
people !  The  theatres  were  kept  open,  but  7io  one 
attended  them,  while  the  special  prayer-meetings  held 
during  the  busy  hours  of  the  day,  were  filled  to  overr 
flowing,     Paris  was  pale,  still,  solemn  ! 


Life  in  Paris.  6i 

My  own  health  was  wretched,  broken  down  by  the 
unremitting  labors  of  my  five  years  in  America,  and  the 
past  three  months  in  Paris,  and  I  little  expected  to  get 
away  from  the  city  alive.  My  studies  were  finished. 
I  spent  about  a  fortnight  writing  letters,  walking  about 
and  seeing  some  points  of  interest,  and  getting  ready 
to  leave. 

The  Sunday  before  I  left  we  had  a  most  solemn 
communion  season  at  the  American  chapel.  Mr. 
Wilkes  being  ill,  I  was  invited  to  administer  the  ordi- 
nance. It  was  the  first  time  I  ever  did  so.  The  follow- 
ing morning  quite  a  number  of  those  present  expected 
to  leave  Paris,  as  I  did  myself.  Therefore,  after  the 
communion  we  took  leave  of  each  other,  some  going, 
some  staying  in  the  midst  of  death.  We  never  ex- 
pected to  meet  again  in  this  world,  nor  did  we. 

Paris  has  often  been  described,  and  the  best  thing  a 
Christian  traveler  can  do  on  leaving  it  is  to  pray  for  its 
perishing  inhabitants,  who,  with  all  their  culture  and 
courtesy,  and  their  many  admirable  qualities,  are  so 
completely  and  sadly  under  the  rule  of  rank  material- 
ism. 

The  next  morning,  which  was  the  9th  of  April,  1832, 
I  threw  myself  into  a  diligence,  and  rolled  away,  day 
and  night,  toward  Strasbourg.  I  had  intended  to  make 
the  journey  on  foot,  but  my  weakness  and  the  preva- 
lence of  the  cholera  induced  me  to  take  a  method,  not 
more  comfortable  indeed,  but  more  expeditious.  At 
Strasbourg  I  stopped  a  day  or  two,  visiting  some  curi- 
osities, and  ascending  the  noted  cathedral  tower.  Cross- 
ing the  Rhine  to  Kehl,  and  finding  no  public  conveyance 


62  Autobiography. 

going  my  way,  I  hired  a  little  carnage,  and  continued 
my  journey  toward  my  native  city  of  Stuttgart. 

Here  I  remained  about  three  weeks,  visiting  my 
cousins,  during  which  time  I  was  taken  quite  ill,  but 
soon  recovered.  I  preached  once  in  Kornthal,  the 
famous  independent  village  near  Stuttgart.  I  visited 
Basle  and  its  missionary  institution,  and  ultimately 
associated  myself  with  three  missionaries  from  Basle,  to 
perform  the  journey  from  Stuttgart  to  the  confines  of 
Russia. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

FROM      STUTTGART     TO     ODESSA — FROM     ODESSA     TO 
CONSTANTINOPLE. 

THE  following  extracts  from  Dr.  Schaufifler's  jour- 
nal during  the  trip  from  Stuttgart  to  Odessa, 
and  during  his  visit  in  the  latter  city,  are  taken  from 
the  Missionary  Herald  for  1833  : 

"  May  14,  1832.— We  went  on  our  way  conversing,  and 
now  and  then  singing  a  verse  or  two,  until,  about  noon, 
we  reached  Metzingen.  This  was  a  little  out  of  our 
way,  but  as  it  is  the  focus  of  the  missionary  spirit  in  all 
the  surrounding  country,  the  brethren  from  Basle  felt  it 
to  be  their  duty  to  visit  the  pious  people  here. 

"The  cause  of  the  missionary  celebrity  of  this  very 
inconsiderable  town  lies,  not  in  its  being  the  residence 
of  any  rich  or  learned  man,  or  high  church  functionary, 
nor  the  seat  of  any  school  of  learning  or  divinity,  but 
only  in  its  being  the  home  of  a  plain,  pious,  active 
schoolmaster,  Volter  by  name.  He  received  us  with  a 
warmth  which  made  us  at  once  feel  at  home.  He  in- 
formed us  that  he  had  given  notice,  in  town  and  out  of 
town,  of  our  expected  arrival,  and  that  an  extraordinary 
missionary  meeting  would  be  held  in  the  evening.  Mr. 
Volter  himself  has  a  regular  weekly  meeting  for  the 
purpose  of  communicating  missionary  intelligence  to  all 
who  take  an  interest  in  the  subject.  The  meeting  is 
visited  by  many  people  from  a  distance,  as  well  as  by 
those  in  town.  These  people  are  remarkable  for  their 
activity  and  devotion  to  the  cause,  and  the  liberality  of 

(63) 


64  Autobiography. 

their  contributions,  though  they  are  all  poor,  reduced 
by  wars,  political  changes,  heavy  taxation,  etc. 

"  The  evening  came,  and  all  the  house  was  filled  with 
people,  even  to  the  kitchen,  entry,  and  stairs.  Some 
came  from  a  distance  of  eight  miles,  which  is  saying  a 
good  deal  in  a  country  where  the  villages  are  only  half 
a  mile  or  a  mile  apart,  and  where  most  of  the  people  are 
obliged  to  walk.  Each  of  us  spoke  in  turn,  and  brother 
Volter  closed  with  prayer.  Then  followed  a  general 
hand-shaking.  A  young  man  was  present,  who  hopes  to 
join  some  Moravian  mission  ere  long,  and  who  was 
awakened  and  converted  by  the  letters  of  Pliny  Fisk,  a 
translation  of  which  he  saw  in  some  German  missionary 
publication.     May  he  be  like  unto  his  spiritual  father." 

After  traveling  by  carriage  to  the  city  of  Uln:i,  the 
missionary  party  embarked  on  a  Danube  River  boat  for 
the  voyage  to  Vienna. 

"May  igf/i. — We  set  out  on  our  river  voyage  about  half- 
past  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  After  breakfast  we 
read  a  chapter  and  a  hymn,  in  the  cabin  (if  I  may  call  it 
so).  Afterwards  we  read  a  sermon  by  Krummacher, 
one  of  the  most  popular,  pious  preachers  in  the  Wupper- 
thal.  The  uninterrupted  noise  and  bustle  made  it 
impossible  to  have  prayers. 

"  At  noon  we  stopped  at  Donauworth.  It  is  a  neat 
little  town,  but  looks  very  popish.  The  largest  church  has 
several  niches  on  the  outside,  containing  representations 
of  New  Testament  scenes;  for  instance,  Christ  in  Geth- 
semane,  His  three  disciples  sitting  straight  up,  and  fast 
asleep.  Another  group  represents  Christ  in  the  sepul- 
chre, the  guards  sitting  about  Him  /as^  asleep  tool  The 
artist  doubtless  had  a   faint   recollection   of   Matthew 


From  Stuttgart  to  Odessa.  65 

xxviii.  13.  Annas  and  Caiaphas  could  not  have  sketched 
a  better  plan  of  the  holy  sepulchre. 

"  All  the  day  long  I  was  much  exercised  with  a  ques- 
tion of  duty,  which  I  had  not  anticipated  on  taking  the' 
boat.  The  route  through  Germany  had  been  recom- 
mended to  me  at  Paris  as  the  most  desirable,  but  evi- 
dently on  the  supposition  that  I  should  take  the  Danube, 
at  least  as  far  as  Vienna.  The  brethren  from  Basle 
intended  to  take  that  very  course,  and  thus  we  joined, 
and  engaged  places  together  on  the  boat.  But  it  never 
occurred  to  me,  nor  to  either  of  the  others,  to  inquire 
whether  the  boat  would  travel  on  the  Sabbath,  until 
to-day,  when  I  asked  about  it,  and  found  that  it  would. 
I  was  by  no  means  compelled  to  keep  my  place  on  the 
boat,  but  to  leave  it  would  subject  me  to  the  expen-se  of 
the  stage  trip  from  Neuburg  to  Vienna,  which  amounted 
to  about  twelve  dollars.  Examining  my  private  purse, 
I  found  that  I  had  that  much  on  hand,  and,  of  course,  I 
would  not  hesitate  to  spend  it,  rather  than  travel  un- 
necessarily on  the  Sabbath.  Thus  I  concluded  to  remain 
over  Sunday  at  Neuburg,  and  to  keep  'a  conscience 
void  of  offense,'  without  thereby  causing  any  additional 
expense  to  the  treasury  of  the  Board. 

*'  I  thought  sometimes  that  the  circumstances  of  the 
case  might  be  an  apology  for  my  proceeding,  but  it  was 
not  clear  to  me,  and  being  hard  pressed  all  day  by 
Romans  xiv.  23,  'And  he  that  doubteth  is  damned  if  he 
eat,  ....  for  whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin,'  I  decided 
to  land.  Brother  Wolters  was  much  tried  with  the 
same  question,  but  being  associated  with  the  other  two 
brethren,  Hoernle  and  Gross,  who  were  satisfied  that  it 
was  their  duty  to  proceed,  he  had  to  yield  to  the 
majority. 

"  May  2ofh. — The  missionaries  took  leave  about  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning.      They  are  going  to  have  divine 


66  Autobiography. 

service  on  board  to-day.  May  they  be  assisted  from 
above  !  The  crew,  and  the  company  in  the  boat  need 
much  faithful  admonition.  The  stages  going  much 
faster  than  the  boat,  we  shall  probably  arrive  in  Vienna 
at  about  the  same  time,  though  I  shall  have  to  wait  for 
my  stage  till  day  after  to-morrow. 

"I  had  long  wanted  a  day  of  retirement.  Now  I  had 
secured  it  in  a  way  quite  unexpected.  There  being  no 
Protestant  worship  in  the  town,  I  remained  in  my  room. 
Enjoyed  myself  much  in  prayer  for  all  my  absent 
friends,  whom  I  visited  in  spirit,  going  from  place  to 
place.  I  had  but  little  freedom  in  petition  for  myself 
and  my  future  work. 

"  Vienna,  May  2'jth. — Arrived  here  early  this  morning, 
after  two  days  and  three  nights  of  uninterrupted  stage 
riding.  In  the  forenoon  I  went  to  hear  *the  best 
preacher  in  the  Reformed  Church,'  as  I  was  informed. 
It  was  a  confirmation  sermon,  labored,  beautiful  in  every 
respect,  and  gracefully  delivered.  I  went  away  unfed, 
and  emptier  than  I  came,  sighing  for  the  poor  people, 
and  especially  for  the  youth  who  were  thus  welcomed 
to  the  Lord's  table.  I  am  sure  all  the  unconverted  in 
the  audience  came  away  greatly  pleased  with  them- 
selves, the  preacher,  and  all  the  world,  and  quite  sure 
of  heaven.     I  spent  the  rest  of  the  day  in  my  room. 

''  May  2,0th. — We  left  Vienna  late  this  afternoon,  con- 
tinuing our  journey  in  a  sort  of  private  stage,  which  we 
found  to  be  a  more  economical,  and  almost  as  rapid  a 
method  of  travel  as  that  by  the  '  post-chaise.' 

^^/ime  2d. — The  varying  and  picturesque  scenery 
through  which  we  have  passed  to-day,  has  kept  us  con- 
stantly on  the  lookout.  But  while  one  is  delighted  with 
the  beauties  that  attract  his  attention,  he  must  needs  be 
tried  with  the  numberless  crucifixes,  mater-dolorosas, 
St.   Nepomucks,  and  other   miserably  wrought  monu- 


From  Stuttgart  to  Odessa.  dj 

ments  of  superstition,  which  beset  the  way  on  every  side. 
Here  all  is  form,  sense,  externals.  Poor  Moravia,  *  thou 
that  killedst  the  prophets  and  stonedst  them  that  were 
sent  unto  thee,'  Egyptian  night  has  settled  upon  thy 
hills,  the  shadow  of  death  fills  thy  valleys!  Thou  didst 
reject  the  Saviour  of  the  world  in  His  word,  and  didst 
persecute  Him  in  His  members  ;  now  thou  must  kneel 
before  the  senseless  block,  carved  by  an  unskilful  hand 
into  the  semblance  of  anything  but  Him  who  was  '  the 
chief  among  ten  thousand,  and  the  one  altogether 
lovely.' 

'*  We  had  agreed  before  setting  out,  on  keeping  the 
Sabbath  on  the  road.  Accordingly  we  stopped  here  for 
this  purpose. 

"June  6th. — All  day  3resterday  and  to-day  we  passed 
along  the  northern  border  of  the  mighty  Carpathian 
mountains.  In  the  afternoon  we  passed  from  Austrian 
Silesia  into  Galicia.  Spent  the  night  in  a  miserable 
place  called  Kentz.  The  appearance  of  the  people  be- 
comes more  and  more  dirty  and  wretched. 

"June  1 1//?.—*  Lead  us  not  into  temptation,'  is  an  im- 
portant part  of  the  Lord's  prayer.  Saturday  evening 
we  reached  Syndicow.  Our  tavern  was  not  bad  for 
Galicia.  I  expected  the  Sabbath  to  be  spent  there,  ac- 
cording to  our  agreement.  It  was,  moreover,  Pentecost. 
My  feelings  with  reference  to  the  Sabbath  were  known 
to  the  brethren.  The  depth  of  my  convictions  was  suffi- 
ciently expressed  by  my  conduct  at  Neuburg,  and  at 
Vienna  our  agreement  was  to  stop  on  the  Sabbath. 
One  Lord's  day  we  had  kept.  But  this  time  my  com- 
panions were  overcome  by  their  desire  to  get  along,  and 
they  proposed  to  stop  during  the  forenoon,  hold  our 
social  service,  and,  if  I  was  willing,  to  continue  our 
journey  after  dinner. 

"  I  replied,  that  they  could  stop  as  long  as  they  pleased, 


68  Autobiography. 

and  proceed  when  they  pleased,  and  that  I  should  claim 
the  same  privilege.  Lemberg  being  near,  I  could  easily 
overtake  them  there  on  foot,  if  our  carriage  did  not 
travel  faster  than  usual.  But  they  declared,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  if  I  would  not  go  with  them,  they  would  not 
proceed.  The  question,  as  a  question  of  conscience, 
was,  therefore,  simply  this  :  whether  I  was  to  subject 
them  to  the  additional  expense  of  staying,  or  yield  up 
my  conviction  to  theirs.  At  last,  when  I  saw  them  re- 
solved not  to  go  without  me,  I  yielded,  though  trem- 
bling and  uncertain,  with  Romans  xiv.  23  lying  hard 
and  heavy  upon  me. 

"  After  dinner  we  set  out.  My  dinner  had  tasted  like 
straw.  On  the  road  I  was  much  cast  down.  The  breth- 
ren sang  some  hymns,  but  I  durst  not  join  them.  '  Obe- 
dience is  better  than  sacrifice,'  rang  in  my  ears.  The 
agitation  of  my  mind  and  the  burning  heat  of  the  day 
occasioned  me  a  severe  headache.  About  eight  o'clock 
we  arrived  at  Landshut.  Our  night-quarters  were  a  large 
empty  room  ;  no  beds,  and  very  cold.  I  lay  down  on  a 
pile  of  straw,  all  dressed,  having  my  traveling-pillow 
under  my  head,  and  my  cloak  for  covering.  I  begged 
the  brethren  not  to  omit  their  evening  prayers  on  my 
account.  Brother  Wolters  prayed  very  sweetly,  and 
when  he  begged  for  the  pardon  of  our  sins,  I  began  to 
feel  comfortable  in  mind  once  more.  I  was  kept  awake 
a  great  part  of  the  night  by  my  headache  and  my  bed 
of  straw,  but  I  meditated  pleasantly  on  the  passage,  '  I 
will  arise  and  go  to  my  Father,'  etc. 

"yii;ie  13///. — About  noon  we  reached  Lemberg.  Un- 
happily for  us,  '  the  contracts  '  were  just  there.  This  is 
a  kind  of  fair  on  a  large  scale,  where  merchants  and 
proprietors  of  estates  meet  to  conclude  their  bargains. 
All  the  city  was  full  of  people,  noise,  and  bustle.  Such 
a  season  lasts  from  two  to  four  weeks.     No  room  was 


From  Stuttgart  to  Odessa.  69 

vacant  at  any  public  house.  At  last  we  found  a  miser- 
able room  in  a  private  house,  without  beds  or  any  con- 
venience. We  could  not  even  obtain  fresh  straw  to  sleep 
on.  Two  narrow  bedsteads  were  given  us,  scantily  cov- 
ered with  old  straw,  and  a  sofa.  The  fourth  member  of 
our  party  tried  to  make  a  bed  out  of  three  wooden 
chairs,  but  spent  most  of  the  night  on  his  feet.  We 
hastened  to  leave.  Being  obliged  to  change  convey- 
ances, we  hired  a  Jew  with  a  butka,  a  large,  long  wagon, 
half  covered  with  sackcloth,  and  without  springs,  to 
convey  us  on  our  journey. 

'■^June  I'jt/i,  Sabbath. — This  time  we  concluded  to  stop, 
the  brethren  themselves  feeling  the  need  of  rest.  In  the 
forenoon  we  had  our  usual  Sabbath  service,  during 
which  we  had  to  lock  our  door.  No  sooner  was  it  opened 
than  our  room  was  crowded  with  Jews — merchants  who 
wished  to  sell  goods,  drivers  who  wished  to  carry  us, 
etc.  We  often  had  to  turn  them  out  by  force,  as  no  re- 
fusal, however  positive,  would  move  them  to  retire. 

^'•June  \Zth. — About  noon  we  passed  the  line  between 
Germany  and  Russia,  at  the  very  point  where  I  had 
passed  it  as  a  child,  in  1804.  We  had,  as  I  expected, 
endless  trouble  at  the  custom-house,  and  with  our  pass- 
ports. A  few  innocent  books  which  were  in  my  trunk, 
were  taken  from  me  to  be  sent  to  Odessa,  and  there  sub- 
mitted to  the  censors  of  the  press.  Mr.  Hoernle  lost  his 
beautiful  homoeopathic  medicine-chest,  which  they  re- 
fused to  let  pass,  under  any  conditions.  One  of  the 
custom-house  officers  aSterwards  came  to  us,  offering  to 
get  the  chest  through  after  night,  for  a  moderate  sum, 
but  Hoernle  and  Wolters  refused  to  avail  themselves  of 
such  an  offer. 

"  Odessa,  June  24M. — At  the  Russian  frontier  I  parted 
with  my  brethren  from  Basle,  they  taking  the  post-route 
to  Kiew.     May  the  blessing  of  God  go  with  them  ! 


70  .  Autobiography. 

"  Five  days  of  hard  travel  still  lay  between  me  and 
my  destination.  This  was  accomplished  partly  by  w'hat 
is  known  as  the  Jewish  post-route,  and  partly  in  an  open 
wagon  with  a  Russian  driver.  Rose  at  three  o'clock 
this  morning  to  complete  my  journey.  By  sunrise 
Odessa  and  the  Black  Sea  were  in  view.  What  emo- 
tions arose  within  me  as  I  thus  returned  to  the  home  of 
my  youth,  after  an  absence  of  six  years — and  such  event- 
ful years  to  me  !  Some  of  those  whom  I  left  here,  are 
now  in  heaven.  Others  remain, — my  dear  mother,  my 
brother  and  sisters,  and  many  other  Christian  friends. 
About  seven  o'clock  I  reached  my  brother's  house,  tak- 
ing them  by  surprise,  as  they  did  not  expect  me  for  a 
week  yet.  After  breakfast  we  went  to  church,  it  being 
the  Sabbath,  to  hear  my  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Fletnitzer, 
preach. 

^^July  isf,  Sabbath. — Preached  in  the  Lutheran  church, 
to  a  very  large  congregation.  There  were  people  pres- 
ent from  some  of  the  villages  about  Odessa,  who  came 
to  town  for  this  express  purpose.  I  preached  from  the 
appointed  portion  of  Scripture — Luke  xiv.  16-24.  Mr. 
Granbaum  and  my  sister  were  present,  too,  and  after 
service,  we  took  dinner  with  Mr.  Fletnitzer.  In  the  after- 
noon there  was  a  religious  meeting  in  the  house  of  my 
brother.  This  meeting  had  been  broken  up  by  some 
difficulties  between  its  members.  Last  Sabbath  it  was 
just  a  year  since  they  last  met  together. 

"  From  that  time  they  met  in  two  separate  places. 
As  I  had  been  a  member  of  this  meeting  ever  since  its 
establishment  in  1820,  those  who  used  to  visit  it,  took  a 
lively  interest  in  my  arrival,  and  concluded  to  unite 
again  on  this  occasion,  and  to  keep  together  hereafter. 
This  was  their  first  united  meeting.  Many  remained 
long  after  the  meeting  was  through,  to  converse  to- 
gether after  so  long  a  time    of    alienation    from    each 


From  Stuttgart  to  Odessa.  71 

other.  May  this  be  the  beginning  of  a  good  season  to 
this  *  little  flock  '  ! 

^''July  2d. — It  was  the  united  desire  of  all  my  Chris- 
tian friends  that  I  should  visit  Sarata.  Both  the  minis- 
ter and  the  people  had  requested  it  long  since,  offering 
to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  journey,  and  to  have  lodg- 
ings ready  for  myself,  and  all  those  whom  I  might  bring 
with  me.  This  request  is  readily  accounted  for  by  my 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  pious  people  of  Sarata. 
I  started,  therefore,  to-day,  with  my  brother-in-law,  and 
other  relations  and  friends.  We  stopped  at  Freuden- 
thal,  and  spent  the  night  there. 

''''July  ^th. — Early  in  the  morning  we  set  out  for  Sar- 
ata—  myself,  my  brother  and  his  wife,  and  another 
Christian  family.  Our  ride  was  delightful  indeed. 
Along  the  road  our  attention  was  frequently  attracted 
by  hills,  evidently  artificial.  The  present  inhabitants 
say,  that  they  are  the  tombs  of  the  ancient  chiefs  of  this 
country,  and  that  they  were  formed  by  their  subjects, 
each  bringing  a  cart-load  of  earth  to  heap  upon  the 
grave  of  the  deceased.  Some  of  them  are  low  and 
small  ;  others  have  a  height  of  thirty  or  forty  feet. 
These  plain  Moldavian  pyramids  of  turf  answer  their 
purpose  very  well,  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  are  very 
welcome  guides  to  the  traveler,  when  the  roads  cease, 
or  w^hen  they  are  covered  with  snow  and  ice.  Our  road 
being  a  solitary  one,  and  our  driver  a  pious  German,  and 
an  old  acquaintance  of  us  all,  there  was  nothing  to  hin- 
der us  from  talking  upon  the  great  subject  most  dear 
to  our  hearts.  About  eight  o'clock  we  arrived  at  Sarata, 
and  were  received  with  great  joy. 

^'  July  6th. — To-day  being  the  holiday  of  John  the 
Baptist,  the  people  were  desirous  to  have  public  wor- 
ship. I  preached,  forenoon  and  afternoon,  to  crowded  as- 
semblies.    In  the  evening  I  had  one   meeting  more,  in 


72  Autobiography. 

which  I  gave  them  an  account  of  the  state  of  religion  in 
America,  in  France,  Wiirtemberg,  Bavaria,  and  Austria. 
The  day  was  blessed,  I  hope.  I  preached  with  profit  to 
myself,  and  with  more  than  common  enlargement  and 
comfort.  As  I  had  promised  to  preach  either  at  Freu- 
denthal  or  at  Odessa  next  Sabbath,  we  appointed  to- 
morrow morning  as  the  time  of  starting. 

"y?^^  1th. — We  rose  early  to  set  out.  The  people 
came  to  prevent  our  going  ;  but,  as  circumstances  were, 
necessity  was  laid  upon  me.  I  was  obliged  to  refuse 
to  remain  any  longer.  At  last  one  of  the  deacons  said  : 
'  Permit  me,  sir,  to  ring  the  bell '  (it  was  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning)  ;  '  we  will  have  the  people  together  pres- 
ently. Give  them  one  sermon  more,  and  then  depart  in 
peace.*  But  our  journey  was  too  long,  and  our  horse 
not  strong  enough,  to  permit  any  further  delay.  More- 
over, my  lungs  were  so  much  affected  by  the  exercise  of 
yesterday,  that  I  could  hardly  speak  without  pain. 

"We  set  out,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  good  peo- 
ple ;  here  and  there  men  and  women  ran  up,  as  we 
walked  through  the  village,  to  shake  hands  with  me,  and 
to  express  their  grateful  feelings  for  our  visit,  each 
wanting  to  make  an  engagement  with  us,  that  we  should 
keep  praying  for  each  other  as  long  as  we  should  live. 
It  was  touching,  indeed.  At  some  distance  from  the 
village  we  got  into  our  carriage,  after  receiving  a  thou- 
sand good  wishes  from  our  brethren,  and  in  the  evening 
we  arrived  at  Freudenthal,  by  the  same  road  that  we 
had  traveled  in  coming. 

''^July  Zth. — Preached  at  Freudenthal  in  the  forenoon, 
from  the  appointed  passage,  Luke  xv.  i-io.  These  peo- 
ple are  remarkable  for  their  hardness  of  heart.  I  felt  it 
sensibly;  I  was  oppressed  and  labored  hard,  but  in  vain, 
to  get  some  clear  Gospel  view  of  my  passage,  which  cer- 
tainly is  one  of  the  most  precious  ones  in  the  New  Testa- 


From  Odessa  to  Constantinople.  73 

ment.  I  was  full  of  rebuke,  and  of  the  thunders  of  the 
law.  The  house  was  full,  and  many,  as  was  the  case  in 
Sarata,  stood  before  the  windows.  Some  Christian 
friends  from  Odessa  were  present  too.  In  the  after- 
noon I  preached  in  the  other  village,  Petersthal.  Sev- 
eral of  the  people  from  Freudenthal,  and  those  from 
Odessa,  rode  or  walked  over,  the  weather  being  pleas- 
ant. I  feared  to  meet  with  the  same  difficulty  as  at 
Freudenthal,  and  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  experi- 
ence a  special  enlargement  in  prayer,  and  much  courage 
and  desire  to  preach,  although  I  was  almost  entirely 
unprepared. 

"  I  was  delighted  to  hear  afterwards,  that  there  was 
*  salt '  in  this  place,  and  that  the  Lord  has  a  little  flock 
here.     This  explained  my  change  of  feeling  at  once. 

^^July  ()th. — In  the  morning  we  returned  to  Odessa. 
I  made  a  sketch  or  plan  of  a  Sabbath-school  for  the 
Protestant  church  here.  I  was  requested  to  do  this,  as 
no  true  Sabbath-school  has  ever  existed  here,  or  in  the 
country  about  here. 

''''July  23^. — Finished  the  vexatious  business  of  my 
passport.  In  the  evening  a  large  number  of  pious  peo- 
ple assembled  at  my  brother's  house.  This  was  intended 
to  be  a  farewell  meeting,  and  here  we  celebrated  a  love- 
feast,  according  to  the  usage  of  the  Moravian  Church. 

'■'■July  2^th. — About  half-past  seven  p.m.  I  went  on 
board  the  Nereid,  Captain  Simms.  A  large  number  of 
friends  accompanied  me  to  the  water. 

"July  26th. — About  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  set 
sail,  with  fine  weather  and  fair  wind.  For  the  second 
time  I  had  to  bid  farewell  to  the  place  of  my  spiritual 
birth,  where  so  many  of  my  Christian  friends  live,  who 
partook  with  me  of  the  same  joys  and  reproaches  which 
signalized  the  first  days  of  my  Christian  life.  I  left 
them  with    less  cheerfulness   this    time,  than   in    1826. 


74  Autobiography. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  because  I  am  to  see  them  no  more 
here  below.  The  city  vanished  rapidly  out  of  sight,  as 
we  turned  around  the  tongue  of  land  which  separates 
the  harbor  from  the  sea.  May  God  dwell  in  the  midst 
of  thee,  thou  little,  despised  flock  of  Christ,  and  may 
His  love  ever  abundantly  compensate  thee  for  the  hatred 
of  this  world  ! 

"y?//)'  30///. — In  the  afternoon  we  discovered  land, 
and  having  a  fair  wind,  we  made  toward  it.  In  search- 
ing for  the  entrance  to  the  Bosporus,  I  could  discover 
nothing  before  us  which  looked  like  it;  but  in  thew^est  I 
noticed  a  chain  of  mountains  running  into  the  land,  and 
another  chain  still  farther  west,  running  parallel  with 
the  former,  and  projecting  farther  into  the  sea.  I  sup- 
posed that  the  Bosporus  must  needs  run  down  between 
these  two  chains  of  mountains,  to  account  for  their 
relative  position,  etc.  But  as  this  would  have  proved 
both  the  captain's  and  the  mate's  reckonings  to  be  faulty 
by  about  ten  miles,  my  suggestion  was  rejected,  and 
captain  and  mate  saw  the  Bosporus  and  light-houses 
before  them  so  clearly,  that  the  captain  even  went  down 
into  the  cabin  to  sleep,  leaving  it  to  the  mate  to  steer 
up  towards  their  Bosporus.  As  we  drew  nearer  to  the 
shore,  the  mate  grew  doubtful;  at  last  he  called  the 
captain,  and  behold,  we  were  close  up  to  the  land,  but 
no  channel  was  before  us.  It  was  a  mere,  rough  bay. 
It  was  not  without  difficulty  that  we  kept  clear  of  the 
coast.  In  the  afternoon  the  wind  died  away.  In  the 
night  we  had  the  most  perfect  calm;  the  current  carried 
us  to  land,  and  the  vessel  would  head  to  the  shore  with 
the  most  unconquerable  obstinacy,  until  we  saw  the 
very  candles  burning  in  the  huts  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Bithynia.  Our  captain  was  half  mad.  At  last  we 
caught  a  very  slight  breeze  from  the  east,  and  thus  were 
able  at  least  to  keep  the  vessel  from  heading  to  the  land. 


From  Odessa  to  Constantinople.  75 

^'•July  3ii"/. — In  the  morning,  no  wind.  Between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock  a  terrible  storm  was  hurled  over  the 
mountains  from  the  interior.  Three  waterspouts  devel- 
oped themselves  in  quick  succession,  from  the  heavy- 
clouds,  and  that  at  no  great  distance  from  us.  We  were 
all  considerably  alarmed.  We  had  enough  wind,  how- 
ever, to  steer  away  from  this  terrible  scene,  while  the 
second  spout  raged  with  great  fury.  It  was  surprising 
to  me  that  while  we  had  wind  favorable  to  move  west, 
the  storm  was  carried  away  in  an  easterly  direction,  and 
at  last  turned  back  into  the  country.  In  the  meantime, 
we  were  overtaken  by  another  storm  from  the  north, 
which  raged  terribly.  About  eleven  o'clock  the  gale  and 
rain  subsided  a  little,  the  horizon  became  somewhat  clear- 
er, and  our  captain  now  discovered  the  Bosporus,  and  it 
was  the  very  spot  I  had  pointed  out  to  the  mate  yester- 
day. The  appearance  of  the  sky  over  the  country  was 
threatening,  but  we  still  endeavored  to  steer  for  it. 
After  dinner  we  caught  a  tolerable  breeze,  which  grew 
stronger  as  we  approached  the  strait,  and  the  weather 
became  finer,  and  more  comfortable.  About  four  o'clock 
we  entered  the  Bosporus,  and  soon  after  seven  we  cast 
our  anchor  in  the  port  of  Constantinople." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

VISIT     TO     SMYRNA  —  MARRIAGE  —  TOUR     THROUGH 
ROUMELIA. 

WHEN  I  arrived  at  Constantinople,  the  Goodell 
family  were  living  at  Buyukder^,  a  village  on 
the  Bosporus,  about  twelve  miles  north  of  the  city,  to 
which  suburb  they  had  removed  in  consequence  of  the 
Pera  fire,  in  1831,  in  which  they  lost  everything.  The 
Dwight  family  lived  in  Ortakeuy,  about  three  miles 
north  of  the  city.  They  had  arrived  but  a  couple  of 
months  before  me,  and  had  taken  a  large  house  at 
Ortakeuy,  where  both  the  missionary  families  and  my- 
self were  accommodated  for  the  space  of  a  year. 

Our  situation  was  depressing  enough,  though  we 
were  not  sad.  That  dread  disease,  the  Asiatic  plague, 
was  raging  in  the  whole  of  the  large  city,  and  nowhere 
worse  than  in  the  village  of  Ortakeuy,  where  we  were 
living.  Around  us  on  every  side  cases  of  death  by  the 
plague  had  occurred.  Intercourse  with  the  people  was 
difficult  and  perilous  to  a  high  degree.  My  work 
among  the  Jews  seemed  to  be  hopeless.  The  Jews  at 
Ortakeuy  seemed  to  be  most  hardened  in  heart,  and  are 
so  to  this  day.  None  came  near  me.  I  spent  my  time 
in  reading  Turkish,  Hebrew,  and  Spanish  books.  I 
employed  a  Jewish  convert  as  a  helper,  but  he  proved 
useless.  Thus  the  fall  and  winter  passed,  and  the 
(76) 


i 


Visit  to  Smyrna.  'jy 

spring  came.  I  felt  that  I  needed  to  learn  how  to  go 
to  work.  Joseph  Wolff's  method  was  manifestly  not 
such  as  I  could  adopt.  But  there  was  a  prosperous 
Jewish  mission  at  Smyrna,  under  the  care  of  a  resident 
missionary,  who,  it  appeared,  was  receiving  inquirers, 
and  holding  meetings  for  Jews,  at  his  house.  He  also 
had,  connected  with  his  mission,  a  dispensary  for  the 
poor  Jews,  with  a  Jewish  convert  as  a  physician,  and 
occasionally  baptized  converts  from  Judaism.  This  mis- 
sionary was  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lewis. 

At  the  same  time,  another  item  of  business  drew  me 
to  Smyrna. 

The  American  Board  had  determined  to  remove 
their  printing-ofifice  from  Malta  to  the  latter  place. 
The  Rev.  Daniel  Temple  and  Mr.  Roman  Hallock,  the 
printer,  were  therefore  engaged  in  effecting  this  re- 
moval, while  the  Constantinople  station  was  instructed 
to  prepare  accommodations  for  the  missionary  and  the 
office,  at  Smyrna. 

Charged  with  this  duty  I  left  Constantinople  in  an 
American  sailing  vessel,  and  had  a  pleasant  run  to 
Smyrna,  arriving  there  about  the  beginning  of  July. 

I  saw  much  of  the  work  of  Mr.  Lewis  among  the 
Jews.  I  was  not  favorably  impressed  with  the  spirit 
of  the  whole  mission,  though  the  measures  seemed  to 
be  appropriate,  and  Mr.  Lewis's  devotion  to  the  work 
was  praiseworthy. 

The  American  missionaries  at  this  station  were  the 
Rev.  Josiah  Brewer  and  wife,  and  Miss  Mary  Reynolds. 
Mr.  Brewer  had  formerly  been  in  the  service  of  the 
American  Board,  but  latterly  he  and  his  wife  and  Miss 


78  Autobiography. 

Reynolds  were  employed  by  a  little  private  society  in 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  to  commence  female  education 
among  the  Greeks.  The  recent  Greek  revolution  hav- 
ing left  Greece  in  too  unsettled  a  condition  to  render  it 
a  safe  place  of  residence,  they  had  come  on  to  Smyrna, 
and  were  carrying  on  a  successful  work  at  this  place. 
Among  the  promising  features  of  this  work  was  a  large 
school,  conducted  by  Miss  Reynolds.  Mr.  Brewer 
received  me  hospitably,  and  gave  me  a  room  on  the 
terrace.  Miss  Reynolds  was  absent  over  Sunday  at  the 
neighboring  village  of  Boujah,  and  returned  to  duty  in 
her  school  on  Monday. 

In  speaking  of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  the  Orient, 
and  the  prospect  thaf  lay  before  me  on  first  leaving 
America  for  missionary  ground,  I  have  already  given 
the  reasons  that  seemed  to  make  it  wise  that  I  should 
remain  unmarried.  These  conditions  were  now,  to  a 
considerable  degree,  altered,  inasmuch  as  I  was  settled 
at  Constantinople.  But  I  had  never  given  myself  any 
anxiety  on  this  subject,  not  doubting  that  the  Lord 
would  provide  a  good  wife  for  me,  if  it  was  His  will 
that  I  should  change  my  state. 

It  was  but  natural  that  I  should  now  ask  myself  the 
question,  whether  Miss  Reynolds  was  not  intended  to 
be  the  partner  of  my  life.  I  was  much  pleased  with 
her  religious  character,  her  devotion  to  the  missionary 
work,  the  evident  sobriety  and  balance  of  her  mind, 
and  her  principles.  Had  I  then  known  the  trials  she 
had  undergone  in  the  connection  in  which  she  then  was, 
and  the  manner  in  which  she  had  borne  them,  it  would 
have  raised  her  much  higher  yet  in  my  estimation.    But 


Visit  to  Smyrna.  79 

there  was  a  difficulty  with  regard  to  my  offering  her 
my  hand.     She  was  engaged  in  very  useful  missionary 
work,  and  I  could  offer  her  no  sphere  of  usefulness  to 
compare  with  it,  and  to  sacrifice  her  good  work  to  my 
private  comfort,  was  infinitely  removed  from  my  wishes. 
Fearing  that  she  might  perceive  the  genuine  interest  I 
took  in  her,  and  remain  in  doubt  as  to  my  actual  posi- 
tion, and  wishing  to  be  entirely  honest  with  her,  I  took 
an  opportunity  of  speaking  of  the  importance  of  her 
work,  and  expressed   my  regret   that    Constantinople 
offered  no  such  opening  for  doing  good.     I  believe  she 
understood  my  meaning,  and  appreciated  my  motive. 
Those  were  rather  heroic  missionary  times  generally, 
and  devotion  to  that  work  was  something  sweeping. 
The  highway  to  America  by  steam  was  not  so  much  as 
thought  of  then,  and  everything  connected  with  the 
missionary  work  had  somewhat  the  character  of  mar- 
tyrdom.    Both  she  and  I  were  prepared  long  before  to 
live  out  a  solitary  missionary  life,  which  was  expected 
to  be  short  at  best. 

An  unexpected  event  soon  called  me  home.  The 
barracks,  then  standing  on  the  eminence  behind  the 
present  Dolma  Baghtche  Palace,  were  under  the  care  of 
a  Pasha,  fond  of  instruction  and  progress.  Having 
visited  some  Lancasterian  schools  established  among 
the  Greeks  by  Mr.  Goodell,  the  Pasha  desired  the  mis- 
sionaries to  organize  a  similar  school  in  the  barracks, 
for  his  soldiers,  many  of  whom  were  quite  young.  I 
was  called  back  to  Constantinople,  to  assist  in  the  prep- 
aration of  materials  for  this  school. 

I  found  on  my  return,  that  the  brethren  at  Constants 


8o  Autobiography. 

nople  expected  to  be  informed  of  an  engagement 
between  Miss  Reynolds  and  myself,  and  were  much 
disappointed,  when  they  heard  that  this  had  not  taken 
place.  A  room  having  been  reserved  for  me  at  Mr. 
Dwight's,  I  moved  into  it,  and  immediately  returned  to 
my  study  of  Turkish,  and  to  the  work  of  systematizing 
for  my  future  use,  the  Sefardee,  or  Plebrew-Spanish 
language  of  the  Constantinople  Jews.  It  became  ob- 
vious, however,  that  as  a  boarder  in  another  mission 
family,  and  one  laboring  among  the  Armenians,  I  could 
not  labor  among  the  Jews,  receiving  them  at  my  room ; 
for  such  calls  would  have  subjected  the  family  to 
much  inconvenience,  and  to  no  small  additional  danger 
of  contagion  during  the  plague  seasons.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  was  simply  impossible  for  me  to  keep  house 
alone,  without  an  extra  allowance  to  meet  the  expenses 
of  a  household  managed  by  a  couple  of  servants.  I 
did  not  know  what  to  do,  indeed,  but  still  it  gave  me 
no  concern,  and  leaving  all  to  Divine  Providence  to  man- 
age for  me,  I  kept  quietly  on  my  accustomed  course. 
However,  soon  after  my  return  here,  our  Smyrna  corre- 
spondence brought  the  intelligence  that  the  girls' 
schools  in  that  place  were  to  be  transferred  to  the  care 
of  an  English  Missionary  Society,  and  that,  consequent- 
ly. Miss  Reynolds  would  probably  return  to  the  United 
States. 

This  being  the  case,  my  conscience  was  clear.  I 
wrote  her  a  letter  on  the  15th  or  19th  of  November, 
1833,  offering  her  my  hand,  and  a  share  in  my  unpromis- 
ing missionary  work,  and  my  expected  abundant  trials 
and  perils.     In  order  to  be  quite  sure  that  my  own  will 


Visit  to  Smyrna.  8i 

was  not  to  be  followed,  I  let  the  letter  lie  over  one  or 
two  posts,  the  mails  at  that  time  being  carried  across 
Asia  Minor  by  a  mounted  Tartar.  When  the  day  for 
its  departure  came,  I  shut  myself  up  for  the  day,  for 
fasting  and  prayer,  and  commended  the  subject  to  the 
Lord,  praying  that  if  the  step  I  had  taken  was  not  in 
accordance  with  His  will,  the  letter  might  drop  out  of 
the  mail-bag  by  the  way,  which,  considering  Turkish 
management  at  that  time,  could  have  been  done,  even 
without  any  particular  providence.  But  the  letter  was 
conveyed  safely  to  its  destination. 

What  was  the  immediate  effect  of  my  offer  upon  her 
mind,  I  must  leave  her  to  say.  But  I  must,  before  go- 
ing on,  confess  to  an  offense,  about  which  she  has  often 
twitted  me,  lest  she  should  think  on  seeing  this,  that  I 
wished  to  hide  my  failing  from  posterity.  The  thing 
sufificiently  illustrates  the  abstraction  of  my  mind  at  that 
time.  Any  other  man,  having  made  an  offer  of  his 
hand  to  a  lady  by  letter,  would  have  calculated  when 
he  could  expect  an  answer,  and  would  have  been 
sure  to  look  for  it  with  interest.  But  this  was  not 
what  I  did.  I  neither  inquired  nor  calculated  when 
the  returning  Tartar  from  Smyrna  might  be  due,  but 
went  on  with  my  studies  as  before.  And  then  it  hap- 
pened that  the  Tartar  returned,  and  went  again,  with- 
out my  being  aware  of  it.  The  reply  of  Miss  Reynolds 
had  arrived,  addressed  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Dwight,  and 
he,  having  in  his  hands  a  number  of  American  letters, 
which  I  had  received,  and  had  given  to  him  to  read, 
returned  them  to  me,  with  Miss  Reynolds's  letter  in  the 
loose  package,  saying  nothing  of  the  important  addi- 
4* 


82  Autobiography. 

tion  he  liad  made  to  the  correspondence.  I,  not  being 
aware  of  the  arrival  of  the  Tartar,  and  thinking  these 
letters  simply  the  old  ones,  threw  them  into  my  desk 
unexamined.  And  thus  the  Tartar  again  departed  for 
Smyrna.  Not  until  it  was  too  late  did  Mr.  Dwight  ask 
me  at  breakfast  what  the  news  was  from  Smyrna.  I 
replied,  I  had  none.  "  Did  I  not  hand  you  a  letter 
from  Smyrna  the  other  day?  "  he  said.  Instantly  the 
truth  flashed  on  my  mind.  "  Did  you  ?  I  did  not 
notice  that  there  was  such  a  letter  in  the  package." 

I  need  not  add  that  I  waited  with  considerable  resig- 
nation for  the  close  of  the  breakfast,  and  then  immedi- 
ately went  to  my  room,  and  opened  my  desk.  The 
letter,  dated  November  30th,  which  is  still  in  existence, 
contained  a  virtual  consent,  with  some  unimportant 
difficulties,  in  the  clearing  away  of  which  I  confidently 
expected  entire  success.  But,  alas!  the  Tartar  was 
hopelessly  gone,  and  I  had  to  wait  for  the  next.  I  think 
they  used  to  go  once  in  ten  days.  The  next  mail  did 
not  go  without  a  letter  from  me,  and  from  that  time  I 
failed  no  more,  till  Miss  Reynolds  left  Smyrna  to  come 
to  Constantinople.  She  arrived  here  early  in  February, 
together  with  two  young  missionary  families,  Schneider 
and  Johnston. 

Under  ordinary  circumstances  I  should,  of  course, 
have  gone  to  Smyrna,  and  have  been  married  there. 
But  there  were  peculiar  difficulties  in  the  way,  which, 
fortunately,  met  with  a  solution,  by  the  arrival  of  the 
two  young  missionary  families  who  were  to  come  to 
Constantinople.  Miss  Reynolds  could,  with  all  propri- 
ety, join  their  party,  and  come  up  here  to  be  married. 


Marriage.  83 

But  I  had  to  pass  through  no  small  trial  of  anxiety 

before  she  reached  me.     It  was  now  early  in  February, 

1834.     The  winter  was  severe.     At  that  time  steamers 

were  not  one  of  our  few  privileges.     A  little  English 

cutter,  the  Spitfire,  used  to  run  between  Smyrna  and 

Constantinople,  and  was  famous  for  the  regularity  of 

her  arrival,  which  was  generally  after  a  trip  of  six  or 

seven  days.    For,  being  a  small  craft,  she  could  get  over 

the  sand-banks    below  the  Dardanelles,  with   a   north 

wind,  when    other  vessels  were  weather  bound    for  a 

month  or  more.     On  her  previous  trip  she  had  such 

terrible  weather,  that  she  lost  the  captain  overboard ; 

and  the  mate  was  only  saved  by  catching  a  rope  when 

washed  overboard,  and  being  hauled  in  again.     It  was 

naturally  hoped  that  this  trip  the  weather  might  be 

more  favorable,  but  her  appointed,  or  expected  day  of 

arrival  came,  and  she  did   not   make  her  appearance. 

Telegraphs  were  not  thought  of  then;  there  were  none 

of  any  kind  in  Turkey.     I  naturally  felt  very  anxious. 

One  day,  I  was  standing  in  Mr.  Dwight's  study,  looking 

down  intently  into  the  sea  of  Marmora,  which  was  lying 

before  me,  when  he  jokingly  said,  ''  Well,  look  down, 

look  down,  it  will  bring  her  all  the  sooner,  won't  it?" 

I  was  indignant,  and  turned  upon  him  abruptly,  saying, 

"What   will    come?     Where   is   your  boasted  Spitfire 

now,  after  so  many  days,  when  you   say  she   can  get 

through  the   Dardanelles   with   any  wind?"     At   that 

moment    my  Italian  servant,  Pietro,  dashed  into   the 

room  and  exclaimed,  "  Signor,  il  Spitfire  e  arrivato  !  " 

I  dropped  my  quarrel  with  Dwight,  ran  down  to  the 

harbor,  took  a  boat,  and  rowed  out.     The  missionary 


84  Autobiography. 

families  were  on  deck ;  I  saluted  them,  and  went  down 
into  the  little  cabin  to  bid  Miss  Reynolds  welcome  to 
Constantinople,  and  to  her  trials  and  labors  here,  which 
were  not  few  in  those  days. 

After  landing,  I  went  with  her  to  the  Goodells, 
where  she  and  the  Schneiders  took  up  their  abode. 
No  delay  was  made  in  the  preparations  for  our  wedding, 
which  was,  indeed,  so  small  an  affair,  that  it  might  as 
well  have  come  off  the  next  day.  Mrs.  Goodell  thought 
I  ought  to  have  a  new  dress-coat  and  hat  for  the  occa- 
sion. I  thought  the  coat  I  had  would  answer,  and  con- 
cluded to  save  the  money  of  the  Board ;  events  proved 
that  my  judgment  was  sound.  The  26th  of  February 
was  fixed  for  the  wedding,  and  so  far  as  I  was  con- 
cerned, no  grass  grew  on  the  road  between  the  two 
missionary  houses ;  though  I  felt  not  a  little  awkward, 
to  ply  so  diligently  between  the  two  points,  and  to 
knock  so  often  at  the  Goodells'  door.  But  I  thought 
Miss  Reynolds  would  feel  it  cold  in  me  to  stay  away  a 
day;  she  had  deserved  well  of  me  by  coming  up  to 
Constantinople  as  she  did,  and  I  was  going  to  fulfil  all 
righteousness. 

I  was  desirous  to  have  the  wedding  at  the  Goodells*. 
I  feared  having  it  at  the  house  of  Commodore  Porter, 
our  Ambassador,  though  he  had  kindly  offered  us  his  hos- 
pitality, because  he  was  a  social  man,  and  I  was  afraid 
he  would  invite  company,  and  make  a  jollification  of  it. 
But  he  would  not  consent  to  have  it  anywhere  else. 
''  No,  no,"  he  replied  to  Mr.  Goodell,  "  Mr.  Schauffler 
must  be  married  under  the  American  flag.  You  tell 
him  he  shall  have  his  own  way  at  my  house ;    I  will 


Marriage.  85 

invite  no  guests ;  and  you  may  sing  and  pray  as  much 
as  you  like."  This  was  so  kind,  and  peremptory  too, 
that  I  had  to  yield,  and  our  wedding  was  celebrated 
there.  And  here  I  ought,  perhaps,  to  confess  to  another 
eccentricity,  of  which  I  was  guilty.  I  was  then  giving 
lessons  in  Hebrew  to  Mr.  P.,  to  make  him  a  more  effi- 
cient assistant  of  Mr.  Goodell,  in  translating  the  Old 
Testament  into  Armeno-Turkish.  On  coming  to  Mr. 
Goodell's,  to  take  Miss  Reynolds  up  to  Commodore  Por- 
ter's, to  be  married,  I  found  that  she  was  dressing. 
That  lasting  rather  long,  I  regretted  losing  the  time, 
and  went  up-stairs  to  the  upper  story,  where  Mr.  P.  was, 
and  there  I  sat  down  with  him,  and  gave  him  another 
Hebrew  lesson.  Meanwhile  the  bride's  toilet  was  com- 
pleted, and  they  were  searching  the  house  for  the 
groom.  We  were  just  running  down  the  verbal  para- 
digms, when  I  was  called  away,  to  join  the  party  in 
which  I  was  so  much  interested.  The  ladies  thought 
it  very  odd  indeed. 

The  wedding  party  consisted  of  the  missionary  fam- 
ilies of  Goodell,  Dwight,  Perkins,  Schneider,  and  John- 
ston, Commodore  Porter  and  his  family,  and  a  couple 
of  English  friends.  We  were  married  by  Mr.  Goodell ; 
we  then  had  a  cup  of  tea  and  some  cake ;  we  had 
prayers,  and  sang  several  times.  We  conversed  as  on 
any  common  occasion,  and  then  went  home.  The  cele- 
bration was  now  finished,  you  think !  No,  for  at  Mr. 
Dwight's,  we  all  gathered  in  his  study,  where  there  was 
a  stove,  one  of  half  a  dozen  in  the  city,  and  there  we 
ate  roast  potatoes  and  butter.  This  was  a  choice  treat, 
not  enjoyed  then  by  any  other  circle  of  privileged  people 


86  Autobiography. 

in  Constantinople,  and  the  credit  of  which  I  could  take  to 
myself,  for  when  I  went  to  Constantinople,  the  mission- 
aries had  neither  potatoes  nor  butter.  I,  therefore, 
wrote  to  my  friends  at  Odessa,  and  they  sent  us  both 
articles,  by  sailing  vessels,  and  at  a  very  cheap  rate. 
And  so  rare  was  the  sight  of  a  plate  of  potatoes  on 
the  table,  (for  they  were  absolutely  unknown  to  the 
natives,  and  not  to  be  found  in  the  market,)  that  I  did 
not  hesitate  to  send  a  few  of  them  to  our  Ambassador, 
who,  in  his  note  of  thanks,  assured  me  that  he  had 
counted  the  potatoes  in  the  sack,  and  that  every  one 
should  appear  upon  his  table.  After  this  choice  dish, 
and  the  cheerful  conversation  accompanying  it,  we 
adjourned. 

We  immediately  procured  the  most  necessary  articles 
of  furniture,  of  the  greatest  possible  simplicity,  hired  a 
small  house  in  the  neighborhood,  and,  joined  by  the 
Schneiders,  moved  into  it. 

We  were  hardly  settled,  when,  according  to  an  ar- 
rangement previously  made,  Mr.  Dwight  and  myself 
started  on  a  tour  through  Roumelia.  We  sailed  for 
Salonica  in  an  Italian  vessel,  and  then  made  a  tour, 
crossing  the  plain  of  ancient  Philippi  (the  last  speci- 
mens of  whose  marble  palaces  we  saw  being  used  for 
grave-stones),  visiting  Cavallo,  the  ancient  Neapolis, 
Adrianople,  and  Rodosto.  A  brief  extract  from  my 
journal  may  be  found  in  the  Missionary  Herald  for 
1835.  As  none  but  the  common  interest  of  a  tour 
through  the  interior  of  European  Turkey  at  that  period, 
is  connected  with  this  trip,  I  will  not  stop  to  detail 
its  events. 


Tour  through  Roumelia.  87 

About  this  time  an  interesting  piece  of  evangelistic 
work  was  thrown  in  our  way,  in  connection  with  the 
visit  of  the  American  frigate,  the  United  States,  at 
Constantinople.  She  lay  in  port  for  some  weeks,  dur- 
ing which  time  Messrs.  Dwight  and  Goodell  preached 
on  board  on  Sundays,  and  I  held  some  evening  meet- 
ings. About  eight  sailors  were  hopefully  converted. 
When  Mr.  Stewart,  the  chaplain  of  the  frigate,  returned 
to  his  charge,  he  expressed  his  surprise  and  satisfaction 
at  the  marked  religious  change  among  the  crew.  The 
eldest  daughter  of  Commodore  Patterson  was  subse- 
quently converted,  and  after  her  death,  a  little  tract 
was  printed  on  the  subject,  by  the  American  Tract 
Society. 

The  occupants  of  the  vessel  had  occasion,  soon  after 
leaving  here,  to  appreciate  the  value  of  a  hope  in  Christ. 
While  in  the  Archipelago,  they  met  with  the  most 
frightful  tornado  that  ever  swept  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.  According  to  the  statement  of  the  captain,  it  was 
a  blast  like  the  famous  East  India  gales,  only  with  this 
difference,  that  the  latter  last  six  hours,  while  this 
lasted  thirty-six.  Though  there  were  two  good  pilots 
on  board,  they  soon  lost  their  bearings,  and  were  in 
utter  ignorance  as  to  their  whereabouts.  They  rushed 
through  the  sea  blindfold,  expecting  every  moment  to 
strike.  The  ladies  were  overwhelmed  with  the  terror  of 
the  scene,  and  the  imminent  danger  of  a  watery  grave. 
One  lieutenant  loaded  his  pistol,  and  declared  that  the 
moment  the  ship  struck  he  would  blow  his  brains  out. 
The  stoutest  sailor  trembled.  At  one  time  they  saw  a 
French  man-of-war  in  the  breakers,  and  heard  the  sad 


88  Autobiography. 

booming  of  her  guns  of  distress.     They  could  not  help 
her  ;  what  became  of  her  we  never  knew. 

But  an  invisible  pilot  seemed  to  be  provided  for 
our  American  frigate,  for,  in  the  midst  of  the  una- 
bated gale,  they  rushed  blindfold  through  the  narrow 
channel  into  the  harbor  of  Milo,  the  quietest  and  most 
comfortable  in  the  Mediterranean,  and  came  to  anchor, 
astonished  at  their  wonderful  deliverance.  Themselves 
safe,  they  began  to  think  about  another  American  man- 
of-war,  which  they  feared  might  be  within  the  sweep  of 
the  gale.  And  so  she  was !  But,  an  hour  after  the 
United  States  had  come  to  anchor,  the  other  ship  rushed 
in,  just  as  she  had  done,  and  came  to  anchor  alongside 
of  her. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

A  SUMMER  IN   SAN   STEFANO — BEGINNING  OF  ACTIVE 
WORK— GOING  TO   ODESSA. 

ON  my  return  from  the  journey  through  RoumeHa, 
which  lasted  just  four  weeks,  I  was  pained  to 
find  that  a  most  alarming  change  had  occurred  in  the 
health  of  my  wife.  Rev.  Justin  Perkins  and  his  wife 
being  about  to  sail  for  Trebizond,  on  their  way  to  Per- 
sia, and  the  vessel  on  which  they  were  to  embark 
being  anchored  near  the  Black  Sea,  Mrs.  Schauffler  and 
Mr.  Goodell  had  accompanied  them  in  a  cayique,  or 
native  row-boat,  the  entire  length  of  the  Bosporus 
(some  fifteen  miles),  to  the  vessel.  The  sharp  north 
wind  from  the  Black  Sea  brought  on  a  severe  cold, 
which  settled  on  her  lungs  in  a  most  obstinate  and 
alarming  way.  No  remedies  seemed  to  do  any  good. 
She  was  extraordinarily  reduced  in  strength,  consid- 
ering how  short  a  time  she  had  been  sick,  and 
seemed  on  the  verge  of  consumption.  Truly  this  was 
a  trying  experience  to  me,  and  a  sad  return  from  my 
first  missionary  tour! 

Commodore  Porter,  who  had  recently  bought  a  house 
in  the  village  of  San  Stefano,  a  suburb  of  Constanti- 
nople, on  the  shores  of  the  sea  of  Marmora,  sent  us  an 
invitation,  in  which  his  sister,  Mrs.  Brown,  joined,  to 
spend  the  summer  with  them.     It  was  like  a  message 

(89) 


90  Autobiography. 

from  heaven.  We  carried  the  patient  down  in  a  chair, 
put  her  into  a  large  boat,  rowed  down  to  San  Stefano, 
and  carried  her  up  into  the  house,  where  we  were 
received  most  kindly. 

We  spent  a  summer  under  that  hospitable  roof,  never 
to  be  forgotten.  And  there,  without  any  remedy  or 
doctoring,  with  the  house  thoroughly  aired,  the  win- 
dows always  open,  according  to  the  Commodore's 
orders,  who  governed  his  house  as  he  used  to  govern 
his  ships,  Mrs.  Schauffier  gradually  recovered. 

Coming  to  the  year  1835,  I  must  turn  another  leaf  of 
my  missionary  labors,  which  thus  far  had  consisted 
almost  entirely  of  preparation.  There  were  at  that  time 
very  few  Germans  at  Constantinople,  and  they  were  all 
thoroughly  weaned  from  all  religious  observances.  In 
1832  I  had  preached  twice  in  a  family,  where  the  three 
ladies  were  Germans,  but  the  existence  of  the  plague 
not  only  prevented  outsiders  from  coming,  but  also 
rendered  the  family  averse  to  receiving  any  comers  ; 
thus  the  services  ceased.  But  in  i  834  I  was  accosted 
by  some  of  the  Germans,  and  requested  to  administer 
to  them,  from  time  to  time,  the  communion.  This  re- 
quest they  made,  thinking  that  by  this  means  they 
would  get  their  old  score  of  sins  cleared  away,  and 
become  somewhat  prepared  for  death,  for  the  fear  of 
the  plague  was  upon  them.  The  year  before,  a  couple 
of  renegade  Protestant  clergymen  from  Wallachia  had, 
for  a  consideration,  administered  the  communion  to 
them  ;  but  I  naturally  refused  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  such  pseudo-ministerial  labors.  I  told  them  I 
would  hold    divine  services   for  them,  and  on  becom- 


A  Summer  in  San  Stefano.  gi 

ing  mutually  acquainted  in  the  fellowship  of  Gospel 
services,  we  might  talk  on  the  subject  again. 

The  mission  had  hired  a  large  building  at  Pera,  to 
open  a  school  of  a  higher  order  for  Armenian  youth ; 
and  in  the  garden  of  the  house  occupied  by  Mr. 
Goodell,  there  was  a  small  building  used  for  a  Greek 
school ;  there  I  began  my  German  services  with  about 
twenty  hearers,  and  they  were  indeed  about  all  the 
Protestant  Germans  in  the  city.  During  the  summer  of 
1835  our  little  congregation  of  twenty  was  blessed.  Four 
or  five  of  them,  I  could  hope,  had  passed  from  death 
unto  life,  and  we  immediately  began  a  meeting  for  Bible 
study  and  prayer,  on  Sunday  afternoon,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  meeting  on  a  week-day  evening.  Our 
fellowship  was  sweet  in  the  midst  of  death.  This  year 
was  distinguished  by  another  circumstance,  viz.,  the 
baptism  of  the  first  of  the  Jews  I  ever  had  the  privilege 
of  baptizing.  I  had  known  and  talked  with  him  in 
Odessa  when  I  was  a  young  convert,  and  had  known 
him  as  an  anxious  inquirer,  about  1820  or  1821,  but  had 
since  lost  sight  of  him.  He  was  once  wealthy,  but  had 
lost  all,  being  too  honest,  as  the  world  says.  -  Hearing 
that  I  was  here,  he  immediately  left  Odessa,  sought 
me  out,  and  asked  for  the  privilege  of  Christian  bap- 
tism. I  baptized  him  December  25th,  1835,  at  the  serv- 
ice of  Christmas  Day.  He  was  afterwards  very  faith- 
ful and  useful  to  us  in  our  trials,  and  I  shall  refer  to 
him  again. 

But  I  must  go  back,  and  record  the  birth  of  our  first 
child,  on  the  12th  of  May,  1835.  For  there,  indeed, 
beginneth  the  second  lesson   of  our  family  affliction, 


92  Autobiography. 

and  a  severe  one  it  was.  At  the  first  all  seemed  well, 
but  under  bad  management  the  mother  was  brought  to 
the  borders  of  the  grave.  After  many  days  of  suffer- 
ing, an  operation  was  undertaken  for  her  relief,  which 
so  prostrated  her  that  she  appeared  to  be  dying.  The 
doctor,  the  Goodells,  and  Mrs.  Brown  were  notified, 
and  soon  they  were  present.  Outside  the  room,  the 
physician  told  Mrs.  G.,  that  the  patient  would  die,  that 
it  was  all  over,  but  that  to  please  me  he  would  do 
something,  though  it  was  entirely  useless.  She  thought 
herself  she  was  dying ;  and  as  we  rubbed  her,  and  admin- 
istered a  few  drops  of  ether  to  raise  her  from  sinking 
into  the  arms  of  death,  she  begged  me  to  let  her  go.  I 
told  her,  "Yes,  if  the  Lord  has  so  decided,  it  is  well; 
but  if  I  can  keep  you,  I  must.  Eternity  will  not  be 
shorter,  if  you  stay  with  me,  and  then  we  shall  go  a  lit- 
tle nearer  together."  Towards  morning  she  recovered 
a  little  vitality.  But  her  weakness  was  extreme,  and 
night  after  night  we  had  to  repeat  the  friction  treatment 
and  the  application  of  ether.  In  all  this  we  had  good 
help  in  the  sick-room.  Brother  Merrick  was  all  kind- 
ness and  sympathy,  and  indefatigable  day  and  night. 
Mrs.  D.,  a  quiet,  orderly,  pious  woman,  came  at  once 
to  our  help,  and  never  did  I  see  a  nurse  in  a  sick-room 
who  did  more  and  better  work.  In  the  meantime  our 
poor  child  was  turned  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  a 
wicked  Greek  nurse.  She  neglected  him  in  every  way, 
and  when  I  protested  against  her  sitting  in  the  open 
doorway  with  the  little  one  in  her  arms,  she  laid  down 
the  child,  took  her  things,  and  went  off;  our  situation 
seemed  almost  desperate.     Any  new  nurse  might  drag 


Beginning  of  Active  Work. 


93 


the  plague  into  our  house,  though  at  that  time  it  was 
not  very  prevalent.  But  the  Lord  was  kinder  to  us  than 
our  fears.  Two  nurses  offered  themselves  to  us  that 
day,  and  I  took  the  first  who  came,  though  she  was 
much  the  poorer-looking  of  the  two,  and  just  from  the 
Greek  Islands  ;  she  was  a  Catholic.  Never  could  we 
have  found  a  more  quiet,  orderly,  and  affectionate 
person,  to  take  the  place  of  a  mother  to  our  almost 
orphan  child.  Her  husband  was  a  sailor,  and  lived  in 
Constantinople,  but  though  he  sometimes  called  to  see 
her,  these  two  people  never  gave  us  any  trouble. 
Popery  had,  indeed,  improved  their  characters ;  and  it 
cannot  be  denied  that,  so  far  as  moral  character  and 
intelligence  are  concerned,  the  Greeks  are  very  percep- 
tibly below  the  Catholics,  and  their  transition  to  Popery 
is  a  matter  not  to  be  regretted,  whenever  it  takes  place. 
Our  child  was  baptized  by  Mr.  Dwight,  and  we  called 
him  for  his  maternal  grandfather  and  for  myself 
William  Samuel. 

The  winter  of  1835-36  passed  on  in  the  usual  way. 
After  our  return  to  the  city  from  San  Stefano,  where 
we  had  spent  some  weeks,  our  English  services  were 
resumed,  and  I  took  my  turn  in  them,  and  my  German 
services,  growing  in  attendance  as  the  German  popula- 
tion grew,  naturally  devolved  upon  me  alone.  The  spring 
of  1836  came.  Here  there  was  nothing  to  do  among 
the  Jews,  partly  because  of  the  ravages  of  the  plague, 
which  rendered  intercourse  with  the  people  so  difficult 
and  perilous,  and  partly  because  the  chief  Rabbi  had 
strictly  charged  all  Jews,  on  pain  of  imprisonment  and 
bastinado,  not  to  visit  Pera  without  a  passport.     I  had 


94  Autobiography. 

begun  to  work  on  a  Hebrew  and  Hebrew-Spanish  lex- 
icon of  the  Bible  for  the  Jews,  and  somewhat  later, 
another  addition  to  our  family  was  expected  ;  hence, 
fearing  that  another  summer  under  these  circumstances 
might  prove  fatal  to  the  mother,  and  hoping  to  work 
successfully  at  my  lexicon  elsewhere  as  well  as  here,  I 
resolved  to  spend  the  summer  at  my  brother's,  in 
Odessa. 

We  left  immediately  after  Easter,  on  the  5th  of 
April.  Mr.  Goodell,  Mr.  Homes  with  some  of  the 
children,  and  Miss  C.  accompanied  us  down  to  the 
landing,  where  we  were  to  take  a  cayique,  or  row-boat, 
to  go  out  to  the  steamer.  Our  faithful  nurse  took 
Willie.  She  and  Miss  C.  were  to  accompany  us  to  the 
Russian  steamer.  Miss  C.  stepped  into  the  boat  first, 
then  mother,  then  the  nurse  with  the  babe  (he  asleep 
in  her  armst).  Unwilling  to  put  the  sleeping  babe  into 
other  hands,  and  unacquainted  with  the  ticklish  charac- 
ter of  the  cayique,  she  stepped  heavily  into  the  boat. 
The  boat  began  to  tip.  I  put  my  foot  into  it  to  steady 
it :  it  moved  off.  I  comprehended  that  I  must  either 
throw  myself  into  the  boat  to  steady  it  thus,  if  possi- 
ble, or  withdraw  my  foot  from  it  and  leave  them  to  tip 
over  alone.  I  chose  the  first  alternative,  and  after 
another  lurch  or  two,  we  were  all  emptied  into  the  sea, 
there  twenty  feet  deep.  I  was  dressed  for  cold  weather, 
for  it  was  cold,  and  loaded  down  with  money  and  sil- 
ver spoons.  The  ladies  were  pitched  out  head  fore- 
most. As  I  plunged  in,  I  beat  my  hat  down  tight 
upon  my  head,  and  took  a  full  breath,  expecting  to 
come  up  again  immediately,  which  I  did  ;  but  I  feared 


Going  to  Odessa.  95 

the  nurse  would  let  the  babe  go,  and  he  might  slip  in 
between  the  posts  of  the  jetty  beyond  our  reach,  and 
hence,  as  I  emerged,  my  first  cry  was,  my  child  /  But 
I  already  saw  the  nurse  hanging  with  one  hand  on  the 
landing-place,  and  holding  the  child  fast  with  the  other, 
with  the  desperation  of  a  mother.  I  turned  around 
and  saw  the  two  ladies  afloat,  mother  next  to  me,  her 
face  turned  upward.  I  gave  her  a  lift,  and  went  down 
the  second  time.  But  to  be  brief,  we  all  came  out 
safely.  Mother  had  to  be  dragged  into  a  quarantine 
shanty  (probably  abundantly  defiled  with  plague),  to 
make  necessary  changes  and  arrangements  in  her  dress. 
No  time  was  to  be  lost  in  reaching  the  steamer ;  all  the 
rest  must  go  home,  and  mother,  the  babe,  and  myself 
took  another  boat,  and  rowed  down  to  the  Russian 
steamer.  After  attending  to  the  mother  and  the  babe, 
I  began  to  think  about  myself.  I  was,  of  course,  per- 
fectly drenched  with  salt  water ;  even  the  inside  of  my 
watch  did  not  escape.  The  steamer  soon  started,  and 
we  were  on  our  way  up  the  Bosporus,  followed,  no 
doubt,  by  the  prayers  of  our  brethren  and  sisters  at 
Constantinople. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE     WORK     OF     THE     SPIRIT     IN     ODESSA — PASSING 
THROUGH   THE   WATERS. 

ONE  of  my  brothers-in-law,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fletnltzer, 
was  pastor  of  the  German  church  in  Odessa ;  the 
other  one,  the  Right  Reverend  Mr.  Granbaum,  was 
Provost  or  Bishop  of  the  German  Provosty  of  South 
Russia,  and  lived  at  the  village  of  Freudenthal,  some 
sixteen  miles  from  Odessa.  The  private  religious  meet- 
ings of  those  Germans  in  Odessa  who  were  in  earnest, 
joined  by  such  as  sought  salvation,  were  held  at  my 
brother  Gottlob's  house,  Sunday  afternoons  and  Thurs- 
day evenings.  The  ecclesiastical  laws  of  the  Lutheran 
church  or  churches,  promulgated  in  1832,  forbade  any 
meetings  of  this  kind,  and  permitted  only  such  in 
which  prayers  and  portions  of  edifying  books  were 
read,  which  books  had  to  be  approved  by  the  ecclesi- 
astical authorities.  All  is  carried  on  in  Russia  on  mili- 
tary principles.  What  the  superior  says,  is  law ;  so 
here  ;  if  the  pastor  is  a  Rationalist  or  a  Pantheist,  infidel 
books  and  prayers  are  read ;  if  orthodox,  orthodox 
prayers.  If  he  is  domineering,  he  will  keep  his  people 
strictly  to  the  prescribed  and  approved  pages.  If  he 
appreciates  the  value  of  prayer  from  the  heart,  and 
mutual  edification,  he  will  let  the  meeting  folks  do 
pretty  much  as  they  like,  as  long  as  they  give  no 
(96) 


The  Work  of  the  Spirit  in  Odessa.       97 

offense  by  irregularities  of  conduct.  .  Of  the  latter  kind 
both  my  brothers-in-law  were,  and  hence,  we  could  do 
as  we  pleased.  I  was  expected  to  take  charge  of  these 
meetings,  and  nothing  could  have  been  more  agreeable 
to  my  feelings,  so  long  as  I  saw  the  people  were  being 
edified. 

The  meetings  were  crowded  to  excess,  and  when  the 
rooms  and  entry  were  full,  the  rest  would  stand  out- 
side around  the  windows.  It  was  not  long  before  the 
converting  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  felt,  and 
throughout  the  summer  hardly  a  day  passed  without 
personal  labor  with  inquirers  in  my  room.  Many  were 
converted  for  the  first  time,  and  many  more  brought 
back  from  gross  wandering  and  sin.  As  I  kept  no 
journal,  and  thirty  years  have  elapsed  since  then,  I  can- 
not venture  to  give  any  estimate  of  the  number  reached, 
and  I  will  mention  only  some  of  the  more  memorable 
events  of  the  summer. 

A  considerable  party  of  emigrants  from  South  Russia 
to  America  were  among  the  fruits  of  this  revival.  They 
iremoved  at  a  somewhat  later  period,  on  account  of  the 
ireligious  oppression  under  Emperor  Nicholas  I.  But  let 
me  give  you  a  notable  instance  of  conversion  to  Christ. 
I'specify  this  case,  not  so  much  on  account  of  its  extra- 
ordinary character,  as  because  the  subject  of  it  has  been 
for  nearly  thirty  years  the  most  decided,  benevolent, 
active,  and  still  humble  Christian  man  in  South  Russia. 
'His  house  is  a  sanctuary,  and  a  missionary  centre  for 
good  people  and  inquirers  far  and  wide.  I  knew  the 
man  before ;  he  was  a  blacksmith  and  carriage-maker. 
He  was  a  hard  drinker,  noted  for  his  physical  strength, 
5 


98  Autobiography. 

and  acknowledged  to  have  no  match  among  the  row- 
dies of  Odessa.  If  in  a  quarrel  among  drunken  fellows 
he  took  hold  and  interfered,  friends  and  foes  cleared 
out,  for  there  was  no  telling  whom  he  would  fling  against 
the  wall,  or  upon  whose  head  he  would  smash  a  chair 
or  a  bench.  I  remember  distinctly,  how  once,  as  I 
stood  behind  my  table,  holding  the  meeting  in  my 
brother's  house,  Alber  came  in.  I  was  astonished. 
TJiat  man  I  never  expected  to  see  there.  But  he  came 
again,  and  appeared  immediately  and  wonderfully 
changed.  The  very  next  time  he  brought  his  wife 
with  him,  and  both  of  them  continued  to  enter  right 
into  the  fellowship  of  the  brethren  and  sisters,  and  are 
now  bright  examples  of  sterling,  honest,  active  piety, 
and  a  blessing  to  thousands  in  South  Russia. 

But  what  brought  him  to  the  meeting?  There  was 
at  Odessa  an  impostor,  professing  in  a  secret,  private 
way,  to  know  how  to  disenchant  hidden  treasures.  On 
the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea,  between  Odessa  and  the 
village  of  Lustdorf,  there  are  deep  caverns,  and  that 
impostor  succeeded  in  making  several  men  believe  that 
there  were  hidden  in  one  of  these  caverns  a  thousand 
little  sacks  of  gold.  They  had  been  hidden  there  by 
three  souls  now  in  purgatory,  and  their  affections  being 
set  on  this  gold,  they  could  not  leave  purgatory,  unless 
redeemed  by  the  saying  of  certain  prayers.  While  they 
were  thus  bound  and  tormented  in  purgatory,  a  black 
dog,  in  reality  the  devil,  was  lying  upon  the  gold,  and 
thus  the  gold  was  enchanted  ;  but  as  soon  as  these 
souls  were  released,  the  devil  would  be  obliged  to  leave 
the  money,  and  then  it  could  be  taken  by  any  one. 


The  Work  of  the  Spirit  in  Odessa.       99 

Ideas  of  this  kind  were  not  uncommon  even  among 
Protestant  Germans,  in  some  places,  and  there  exists 
a  book  of  prayers  by  which  ghosts  can  be  laid,  and 
hidden  treasures  which  they  guard  can  be  taken. 

Now  the  dupes  of  that  impostor  joined  him  in  going 
out  into  one  of  those  caves,  in  the  inner  depths  of 
which  the  money  was  supposed  to  be,  and  there,  by  the 
light  of  consecrated  tapers,  they  read  those  prayers  for 
days,  while  all  that  time  the  impostor  sponged  from 
them  as  much  money  as  he  could.  At  last,  when  the 
game  could  no  longer  be  continued  in  that  way,  he 
said  :  '^  Well,  now  we  are  very  near  our  object,  now  we 
must  have  another  man  to  join  us ;  but  it  must  be  one 
who  is  not  afraid  of  the  devil."  They  consulted  among 
themselves  whom  to  invite,  and  concluded  if  there  was 
a  man  in  Odessa  who  was  not  afraid  of  the  devil,  it  was 
Alber.  One  of  these  dupes  of  the  impostor  came  to 
him  quite  privately,  and  confided  to  him  what  they 
were  about,  and  that  they  were  near  accomplishing  the 
thing,  and  needed  a  man  who  was  not  afraid  of  the 
evil  one.  A  few  more  prayers  were  to  be  read,  and 
then  they  must  go  into  the  inner  cave  and  drive  away 
the  black  dog,  who  would,  perhaps,  go  with  but  ill  grace, 
and  the  money  could  be  taken.  A  share  in  a  thousand 
bags  of  gold  was  an  attraction  to  Alber,  who  was  always 
in  trouble  about  money.  Ignorant  enough  in  religious 
matters,  he  was  ready  to  believe  the  whole  story. 
"  Afraid  of  the  devil  I  am  not,"  he  said ;  *'  but 
I  don't  know  about  it ;  I  don't  like  the  thing."  The 
other  one  urged  the  matter,  and  finally  Alber  consented 
to  go,  and  they  went. 


100  Autobiography. 

The  reading  of  disenchanting  prayers  was  now  re- 
sumed, but  somehow  there  was  always  some  reason  why 
the  thing  did  not  succeed.  When  urged  for  a  reason, 
the  manager  of  the  enterprise  declared  that  some  of 
those  engaged  in  it  must  have  sins  on  their  souls  that 
were  not  yet  cleared  away,  and  so  he  would  collect 
more  money  from  them,  promising  to  have  masses  said 
for  their  benefit.  While  all  this  was  going  on,  the  man 
who  first  invited  Alber  came  to  him.  *'  Alber,"  he  said, 
''  I  have  been  thinking  of  a  thing  that  might  do  us 
good  in  our  undertaking ;  there  is  Schauffler,  you 
know,  who  has  meetings  in  his  house  twice  a  week,  and 
his  brother,  who  is  a  missionary,  has  come  from  Con- 
stantinople, and  he  holds  the  meetings  now,  and  I 
thought  we  might  go  there  a  few  times,  and  there,  per- 
haps, get  rid  of  our  sins."  "Meeting?"  Alber  said, 
''What  is  that?  What  do  they  do  there?"  "Well, 
they  read  the  Bible  and  sing  and  pray  together,  and 
the  missionary  explains  the  Bible  to  them.  They  are 
very  nice,  pious  people ;  nothing  bad  is  done  there." 
"  Well,  I  will  go.  You  may  come  at  the  proper  time 
and  take  me  along,"  said  Alber.  At  the  appointed 
time  the  man  called,  and  they  came  into  the  meeting, 
as  previously  stated.  The  other  man  I  never  identified. 
"I  went  off  from  the  meeting,"  said  Alber,  when 
afterwards  telling  about  it,  "  without  having  under- 
stood a  single  word  of  all  that  was  said,  sung,  or 
prayed,  but  I  felt  all  over,  that  such  a  meeting  was  a 
right  good  thing,  and  that,  anyhow,  I  should  continue 
to  go  ;  and  I  said  to  my  wife  when  I  came  home,  '  Wife, 
those  meetings  are  splendid  things,  and  the  next  time 


The  Work  of  the  Spirit  in  Odessa,     ioi 

you  must  go  along  with  me.'  '  Very  well,'  she  replied 
carelessly."  And  to  the  very  next  meeting  Alber 
brought  his  wife,  and  I  noticed  them  as  they  came  in. 

But  to  bring  the  treasure  story  to  a  close.  Their 
proceedings  continued,  even  when  Alber  had  begun  to 
come  to  the  meetings,  where  he  was  to  get  rid  of  his 
sins,  and  really  did  get  rid  of  them.  They  read  a  few 
times  more,  and  as  the  impostor  saw  he  could  hold  his 
dupes  no  longer,  he  said,  ^'  The  next  time  we  shall 
finish."  Once  more  they  met.  When  the  prayers  were 
read,  the  impostor  said,  "  Now,  Alber,  is  your  time  ;  go 
and  drive  the  d/ack  dog  away  from  the  treasure."  And 
Alber  went,  void  of  fear,  into  the  inner  cave.  "  I  went 
in,"  he  said,  ^'  and  all  was  desolate,  waste,  dark  ;  no  gold, 
no  dog  was  there.  The  feeling  came  over  me  that  the 
whole  was-  deviltry,  with  which  I  must  have  nothing 
more  to  do."  He  went  out  to  his  fellows,  who  anxious- 
ly awaited  him.  He  dashed  the  consecrated  taper  to 
the  ground,  and  said,  "  I  tell  you,  fellows,  this  whole 
business  is  of  the  devil,  and  I  will  have  nothing  more 
to  do  with  it."     And  he  started  for  the  daylight. 

Now  conviction  of  sin  took  hold  of  the  strong  man, 
and  so  deep  was  his  sense  of  guilt,  that  it  threw  this 
Samson  helpless  into  his  bed.  His  whole  life  passed 
before  him  in  all  its  deformity  and  guilt.  While  in  this 
deep  inward  conflict,  the  man  who  had  induced  him  to 
take  part  in  the  treasure-digging  enterprise  called,  in 
order,  if  possible,  to  get  him  back  ;  for,  as  men  once 
fairly  caught  in  these  delusions  never  get  disabused,  so 
these  men  continued  their  incantations.  "No,"  said 
Alber,  "  never  again  ;  the  thing  is  wrong,  and,  besides,  I 


102  Autobiography. 

am  quite  ill/*  "  But  what  is  the  matter  with  you, 
Alber  ?  "  "  '  What  is  the  matter  ?  '  do  you  ask  ?  Don't 
you  know  what  sort  of  a  life  I  have  led  ?  Isn't  that 
enough  to  sink  a  man  to  hell?"  ''Oh,  now,  you  are 
superstitious  ;  you  have  got  into  those  strange  religious 
notions  ;  you  see  those  people  up  there  at  Schauffler's 
are  crazy  about  these  things,  and  they  have  really  turned 
your  head,  it  seems  ;  but  this  is  all  nonsense.  No,  no  ! 
Cheer  up,  Alber,  and  join  us  again,  for  we  shall  yet 
have  the  thing,  no  doubt,  and  we  will  laugh  at  those 
fools  when  we  have  got  it."  Now  Aiber's  wrath  was 
kindled.  "  What !  you  came  to  me  when  you  wanted 
me  to  go  there  for  your  wicked  object,  and  told  me 
they  were  excellent,  pious  people,  and  all  that,  and  now 
you  come  here  to  tell  me  that  they  are  superstitious, 
crazy,  and  the  like  ;  if  you  don't  clear  out  in  a  hurry,  I 
shall  get  up  from  my  bed  and  pitch  you  out  of  my 
house  head  foremost."  The  fellow  left,  and  was  seen 
in  Aiber's  house  no  more  ;  but  poor  Alber  sank  back 
upon  his  pillow,  overwhelme-d  with  guilt.  "  Is  this  my 
repentance,"  he  groaned,  "  thus  to  fly  into  a  passion 
just  in  the  old  way?     Woe  is  me,  for  I  am  undone." 

I  heard  of  Aiber's  sickness,  and  went  to  see  him.  It 
was  easy  to  perceive  what  was  the  matter.  He  was  cut 
down  in  deep  contrition,  but  the  gentleness  of  the  lamb 
was  already  perceptible  amid  the  dying  agonies  of  the 
lion.  He  was  soon  relieved,  peaceful,  happy,  gentle.  It 
was  delightful  to  see  him. 

Our  Odessa  meetings  continued  with  unabated  in- 
terest. On  the  20th  of  July  our  second  son  was  born, 
the  unmistakable  image  of  his  mother,  but  a  very  feeble 


Passing  through  the  Waters.  103 

child.  Slowly  the  mother  recovered,  and  my  labors  went 
on  uninterruptedly.  When  the  mother  was  restored 
to  her  accustomed  health  and  strength,  Willie  was  taken 
with  a  disease  which  then  prevailed  among  the  children 
about  Odessa.  The  child,  though  healthy,  was  never 
very  strong.  The  disease  sensibly  reduced  what  strength 
he  had.  Our  youngest  child,  appearing  also  very  frail, 
and  threatening  to  leave  us,  I  baptized  him  on  the 
28th  of  August,  at  home.  He,  too,  was  affected  by 
the  prevailing  disease  not  many  days  after  we  took  the 
children  out  to  Freudenthal,  where  we  went  because 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Granbaum  had  kindly  urged  us  to  give 
the  children  the  benefit  of  the  country  air.  All  was 
done  that  human  care  could  devise,  but  without  effect ; 
the  children  failed  steadily  as  the  disease  proceeded. 

As  our  return  to  Constantinople  could  not  be  de- 
layed much  longer,  I  had  fixed  this  as  the  time  of  my 
second  visit  to  Hoffnungsthal,  a  village  where  I  had 
previously  held  meetings.  The  church  there,  being  of 
an  independent  character,  not  under  the  Consistory  of 
South  Russia,  and  being  almost  disorganized,  the  good 
people  had  appealed  to  me  to  help  them  to  reorganize, 
and  secure  a  new  pastor  from  Germany.  Their  condition 
deeply  appealed  to  me,  and  I  had  promised  to  return 
to  them  for  this  purpose.  Now  they  were  here,  ready 
to  convey  mc  to  their  village.  This  was  very  trying, 
for  the  children  were  growing  worse,  and  more  feeble, 
and  I  saw  the  risk  of  not  meeting  them  again  on  earth. 
Mr.  Granbaum  urged  me  to  stay,  and  tell  the  people  of 
Hoffnungsthal  that  they  must  excuse  me  till  later.  But 
our  time  was  growing  short,  and  I  felt  pressed  in  spirit  to 


104  Autobiography. 

go,  and  so  I  did,  leaving  a  heavy  burden  on  the  mother 
and  my  sister.  Mrs.  Schauffler  accompanied  me  to  the 
gate  of  the  parsonage.  My  absence  could  not  be  short 
of  a  week,  or  hardly  so.  The  children  were  not  likely 
to  live  till  then.  She  asked  me  with  entirely  calm  self- 
possession,  "  If  the  children  should  die,  where  shall  I 
have  them  buried?"  "Where  they  die,  there  let  them 
be  buried,"  I  replied.  I  drove  out  of  the  village  with 
a  heavy  heart,  commending  my  wife  and  children  to 
the  faithful  keeping  of  our  Covenant  God. 

Both  children  were  alive  when  I  returned  to  Freu- 
denthal,  but  both  very  ill.  The  disease  yielded  to  no 
remedy.  Willie  was  very  patient ;  he  looked  like  a 
suffering  angel.  The  intelligent  little  fellow  seemed  to 
appreciate  all  that  was  done  for  him,  and  what  was 
going  on,  and  was  manifestly  fast  ripening  for  heaven, 
though  he  never  spoke  a  word  on  earth. 

The  latter  part  of  the  night,  from  Saturday  to  Sunday 
(Sept.  17  and  18),  the  watch  fell  to  me.  Mother  slept 
in  another  room.  Willie  also  slept  quietly ;  it  was 
his  last  sleep.  Toward  Sunday  morning,  as  it  began  to 
dawn,  a  change  came  over  his  face,  and  the  last  spas- 
modic action  of  his  little  chest  began.  I  hastened  to 
mother.  "  If  you  want  to  see  the  child  alive  once 
more,  and  once  more  pray  for  him,  come  without 
delay."  She  dressed  hurriedly ;  we  joined  once  more 
before  the  little  bed  in  prayer  for  the  departing  spirit, 
and  placed  our  jewel  in  the  hands  of  Jesus,  and  the  dear 
little  soul  left  us,  to  fly  to  the  early  song  of  the  chil- 
dren's choir  in  glory.  Our  hearts  were  ready  to  break, 
but  we  blessed  God  that  the  sufferer  was  at  rest.     It 


Passing  through  the  Waters.  105 

was  my  first  treasure  sent  to  heaven,  and  the  very  clay 
of  it  looked  like  a  form  from  the  better  land. 

He  was  buried  Monday  afternoon.  The  farmers  in 
that  village  have  a  peculiarly  pleasant  way  of  managing 
on  those  occasions.  There  is  no  grave-digger  in  the 
village,  but  if  a  married  person  dies,  a  committee  of 
married  men  dig  the  grave,  and  carry  out  the  corpse  ; 
if  an  unmarried  person,  down  to  the  little  babes,  de- 
parts, ''  the  boys  "  (as  they  call  all  yoimg  men)  do  it. 
They  did  it  for  us.  To  prevent  the  clods  of  earth  from 
falling  rudely  and  noisily  upon  the  coffin,  they  dig  a 
niche  at  one  side,  at  the  bottom  of  the  grave,  into 
which  the  coffin  is  put,  and  then  the  grave  is  filled  up. 

My  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Granbaum,  not  being  very 
well,  I  begged  him  to  stay  in  bed.  I  would  speak  myself 
at  the  funeral.  "  You  can't  do  it,"  he  said  ;  ''  it  is  too 
much  for  you."  Alas  !  he  was  right  enough.  I  should 
have  broken  down  utterly  in  the  attempt.  The  boys 
of  the  village  carried  out  the  little  coffin,  and  many 
villagers  followed  the  procession. 

But  our  trial  of  submission  and  surrender  was  not 
yet  finished.  On  Tuesday  little  James  left  us;  his 
weak  little  form  was  utterly  exhausted,  he  had  not 
strength  enough  to  take  nourishment,  and  fell  asleep. 
On  Wednesday  he  was  buried. 

Mr.  Granbaum  was  now  really  ill,  and  could  not  leave 
his  bed.  I  had  to  speak  at  the  funeral.  What  would 
have  been  impossible  for  me  two  days  ago,  I  could  now 
do  with  entire  self-possession.  My  children  were  gone. 
I  had  nothing  more  to  lose,  and  everything  to  gain.  I 
spoke  with  firmness,  and  even  with  enlargement  of 
5* 


io6  Autobiography. 

feeling  from  the  words,  "  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ? 
O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory?" 

We  carried  the  body  out,  but  at  the  grave  an  unex- 
pected, almost  staggering  surprise  awaited  me.  James 
was  to  be  put  into  the  same  grave  with  his  little  brother. 
The  grave  was  deep,  and  I  had  expected  they  would  open 
it  part  of  the  way  down.  But  they  had  thrown  out  all 
the  earth,  taken  out  the  coffin  of  little  Willie  from  its 
niche,  brushed  it  off  clean,  and  placed  it  in  sight  at  the 
bottom  of  the  grave.  As,  therefore,  I  stepped  up  to 
the  open  grave,  lo !  there  I  met  once  more  the  treasure 
with  which  I  had  parted.  I  reeled  back;  however,  I 
recovered  my  composure  and  finished  the  funeral 
services  at  the  open  grave,  with  the  two  little  coffins 
side  by  side,  in  the  usual  manner.  But  I  returned 
from  the  grave,  bereft  and  forlorn.  My  children  were 
gone. 

On  Thursday  afternoon,  somewhat  late,  we  stepped 
into  a  carriage,  and  drove  back  to  Odessa,  both  of  us 
solitary  ;  but  we  felt  that  we  had  two  children  in  heaven, 
and  felt  nearer  there  ourselves,  than  before.  When  we 
arrived  at  my  brother's  house,  it  being  Thursday  even- 
ing, the  house  was  already  filling  up  with  people  for 
the  meeting.  I  could  only  bring  in  the  things  from  the 
carriage,  and  then  I  crowded  through  the  people  to  my 
place,  and  held  the  meeting  as  usual.  It  was  easy  for 
me  to  talk,  for  eternity  seemed  very  near. 


CHAPTER  X. 

RETURN     TO     CONSTANTINOPLE  —  A     NEW     HOME  — 
THREATENED   DANGER. 

WE  expected  to  leave  Odessa  on  the  27th  of 
October.  We  were  importuned  to  stay  through 
the  winter,  for  the  work  of  God  was  great  in  the  city, 
and  there  were  none  to  do  it.  Another  motive  might 
have  acted  upon  me  to  induce  me  to  prolong  our  stay, 
as  the  plague  had  been  raging  all  summer  in  Constanti- 
nople, and  still  continued  with  unabated  fur}^  To  go 
there  was  to  go  into  the  fire.  But  as  it  was  our  station, 
and  the  place  of  our  duty,  we  never  hesitated  for  a 
moment  about  returning. 

The  evening  before  our  departure  the  house  was 
crowded,  (indeed  the  whole  day  it  had  been  like  a  bee- 
hive,) but  our  meeting  was  precious.  Let  me  say  in 
closing  this  part  of  my  story,  that  when  we  were  gone, 
the  revival  continued  and  increased,  and  spread  from 
the  city  into  the  villages  around,  so  that  by  March, 
1837,  according  to  letters  from  my  brother,  it  had  ex- 
tended, more  or  less,  to  eight  German  villages. 

As  I  was  packing,  early  on  the  morning  of  our  de- 
parture, (being  sure  that  a  little  later  I  should  be  sur- 
rounded by  people,)  I  was  told  a  young  man  in  the 
garden  wished  to  see  me.  I  asked  him  what  he  wanted. 
In  substance  he  said :  *'  I  was  here  last  evening ;  the 

(107) 


io8  Autobiography. 

prayers  of  my  father  have  found  me  out  at  last  ;  the 
truth  has  reached  me,  and  turned  my  wicked  heart,  and 
I  am  resolved,  with  Divine  help,  to  lead  another  life.  I 
am  a  tailor  by  trade ;  I  lived  for  some  time  in  Constan- 
tinople ;  there  I  abandoned  my  wife,  intending  never 
to  see  her  again.  She  is  serving  in  the  boarding-house 
of  Mad.  B.  When  you  reach  Constantinople,  give 
her  my  love,  tell  her  of  the  change  with  which  I  hope 
I  have  met,  and  that  I  wish  her  to  return  to  me  here, 
where  I  have  found  work.  But  she  is  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic, and,  like  myself,  gone  far  astray.  Therefore,  1  beg 
you  first  to  take  her  into  your  service.  I  doubt  not 
she  will  be  converted  in  your  house.  And  when  the 
season  opens  for  navigation,  you  may  send  her  over 
here,  converted,  and  I  will  meet  all  the  expenses." 

I  told  him  I  could  convert  no  one,  but  I  would  do 
for  her  what  I  could,  and  as  we  needed  a  maid,  if  she 
could  leave  her  present  place  with  propriety,  she  should 
find  a  place  in  my  family  as  a  servant. 

We  arrived  at  Constantinople  on  the  third  day,  and 
immediately  hired  a  house  behind  the  Russian  post- 
ofifice. 

The  plague  was  now  raging  with  great  severity.  The 
missionary  of  the  London  Jews'  Society  had  fled  to 
Smyrna  for  a  season.  On  our  arrival  I  found  a  request 
from  him  to  have  a  superintendence  over  his  house, 
which  was  situated  in  a  most  miserably  unhealthy 
place.  This  charge  proved  more  onerous  than  I  had 
expected.  He  had  left  three  men  in  his  house, — a 
Jewish  youth  whom  he  had  baptized  (to  all  appearance 
a  truly  converted   boy,  who  was   now  cast    out    from 


Return  to  Constantinople.  109 

home  for  Christ's  sake),  and  two  others.  It  was  not 
long  before  one  of  the  men  caught  the  plague,  and 
died  within  the  usual  short  period.  I  had  him  imme- 
diately buried,  the  other  two  removed  to  a  tent,  and 
the  house  thoroughly  cleaned  and  fumigated.  Unfor- 
tunately, the  other,  the  cook,  had  searched  the  pockets 
of  the  dead  man,  lest  some  valuables  or  some  money 
should  be  put  under  the  ground.  He  paid  for  his 
stupidity,  or  cupidity. 

Contagion  frequently  seemed  to  lurk  in  the  body  about 
a  fortnight,  before  developing  into  the  disease.  I  knew 
what  the  man  had  done,  and  watched  him  closely,  as  he 
came  to  me  for  money  for  their  purchases.  Just  a  fort- 
night after,  he  came  for  money  again.  I  did  not  like 
his  appearance.  I  asked  him  how  he  did.  "  Well," 
he  said  ;  but  he  looked  rather  downcast.  The  next  I 
heard  of  him  was  that  he  was  sick,  and  the  next,  that 
he  was  dead.  I  had  him  buried,  the  youth  removed 
again  to  the  tent,  the  house  again  cleaned  and  fumi- 
gated.    It  was  a  terrible  job. 

To  finish  this  episode  :  most  unfortunately,  chilly 
rains  set  in  about  that  time,  and  the  water  ran  in  torrents 
through  many  a  sad  quarantine  tent.  My  poor  Jewish 
boy  took  a  severe  cold.  I  removed  him  to  a  clean,  sepa- 
rate building,  or  room,  rather,  belonging  to  Mr.  Farman's 
premises.  I  visited  him  there,  and  found  him  in  calm 
submission  and  a  sweet  frame  of  mind,  lying  on  his 
comfortable  bed.  He  was  taken  good  care  of ;  but  the 
rheumatism,  deep  and  settled,  took  a  bad  turn,  and  one 
night,  the  Armenian  family  owning  the  house,  and  living 
in   another  house  farther  up  the  ascent,  were  called, 


no  Autobiography. 

because  the  boy  was  dying.  They  came  down  to  see 
him,  and  found  him  engaged  in  prayer,  and  they  after- 
ward remarked  with  admiration,  that  they  had  never 
seen  a  man  eiie  as  this  youth  diei.  They  recognized  the 
power  of  Divine  truth  in  death.  Thus  a  poor  Jewish 
boy  was  saved  and  taken  to  his  rest.  I  then  locked  up 
the  house  entirely,  for  my  duties  had  ceased. 

The  spring  of  1837  came.  Mrs.  Dwight,  whose  health 
was  never  good,  had  become  so  feeble,  that  an  entire 
release  from  responsibilities  became  at  last  extremely 
desirable.  The  Dwights  and  ourselves,  therefore,  took 
a  large  Turkish  house  at  San  Stefano,  and  mother 
undertook  the  management  of  this  compound  house- 
hold. We  were  well  supplied  with  domestic  help,  but 
to  explain  how  this  came  about,  sends  me  back  again 
to  the  winter  of  1836-37.  When  we  arrived  at  Con- 
stantinople from  Odessa,  I  immediately  inquired  after 
the  deserted  wife  of  that  young  man  whom  I  mentioned 
as  being  so  anxious  to  have  us  take  her  into  our  service 
and  convert  her.  Alas !  she  had  caught  the  plague, 
and  was  in  the  plague  hospital  of  Pera.  As  I  after- 
wards learned,  when  she  felt  that  the  plague  was  upon 
her,  she  left  the  family  where  she  was  living,  and  went 
to  the  Austrian  Consul's  office,  to  get  an  order  for 
reception  into  the  hospital,  but  got  none.  She  then 
went  to  several  plague  hospitals  and  begged  for  ad- 
mission, and  was  everywhere  refused.  They  were 
probably  all  full.  Finally,  she  went  to  the  great 
Turkish  burying-ground  of  Pera,  and  laid  herself  down 
between  two  grave-stones  to  die.  An  old  Turk,  who 
was  passing  by,  said,  ''  What  are  you   doing  here  ?  " 


A  New  Home.  hi 

"  I  am  going  to  die  here,  I  have  the  plague." 
"Why  don't  you  go  to  a  hospital  to  die  there?  "  "  I 
have  been  there  ;  they  will  not  let  me  in."  "  Come 
along,  I  will  get  you  in."  The  Pera  Hospital  for  Euro- 
pean plague-stricken  people  being  near,  she  staggered 
after  him.  He  knocked  at  the  door,  and  when  it  was 
opened,  scolded  them  for  their  inhumanity,  telling  them 
it  was  a  shame  and  a  sin  to  let  their  own  people  die  in 
the  streets  like  dogs.  He  demanded  admittance  for  her, 
and  she  was  received.  She  recovered,  after  having  had 
the  plague  so  thoroughly  that  she  was  considered  safe 
and  proof  against  plague  all  her  lifetime. 

When  she  came  out,  and  was  purified,  and  put  into 
some  clean  clothes,  or  rags,  somebody  must  have  told 
her  of  us,  for  she  came  and  begged  for  shelter  and  ser- 
vice. Service  !  She  was  a  perfect  wreck  of  a  human 
being  ;  and  her  reception  into  our  family  was  not  free 
from  danger,  by  any  means.  But  our  lives  were  not 
worth  much,  at  any  rate,  at  that  time,  and  our  pity  for 
her  was  too  great  ;  so  we  let  her  in,  gave  her  a  room, 
and  told  her  to  take  care  of  herself,  and  rest. 

The  good  woman  who  had  helped  us  so  much  in  tak- 
ing care  of  mother,  when  Willie  was  born,  came  to  us  as 
help,  immediately  on  our  return  from  Odessa.  Her  hus- 
band was  dead.    The  two  women  shared  the  same  room. 

I  then  had  family  prayers  in  German,  and  told  the 
ignorant  Catholic  woman  she  might  be  present  if  she 
wished.  She  came  regularly,  but  as  she  knelt  down 
near  nie,  I  heard  her  repeating  her  Catholic  prayers  in  a 
whisper.  But  she  came,  also,  and  of  her  own  accord,  to 
my  German  services,  and  was  a  very  attentive  listener. 


112  Autobiography. 

Meantime,  her  husband  kept  writing  very  kind  letters 
to  her,  and  when  the  impetuous  youth  could  bear  it  no 
longer,  he  started  and  came  across  the  Black  Sea,  in 
February,  1837. 

We  had  to  take  him  in,  and  our  house  was  indeed 
full.  Our  poor  Catholic  woman,  though  extremely 
ignorant  on  religious  matters,  and  even  depraved  as  to 
moral  conduct  before  her  marriage,  was  gifted  with  a 
good,  clear  mind,  and  many  natural  good  qualities  of 
heart.  I  was  preaching  a  course  of  sermons  in  Ger- 
man, very  much  like  my  printed  volume  on  the  Last 
Days  of  Christy  and  once,  on  a  Sabbath,  while  I  was 
describing  the  crucifixion  simply  as  an  event,  and  she 
was  sitting  before  me  in  her  usual  place,  I  noticed  that 
she  broke  down  and  wept  tenderly.  The  service  was  no 
sooner  over,  than  she  hastened  home,  overwhelmed  with 
a  sense  of  her  sins,  and  rushed  to  her  room,  and  after  a 
season  of  close  heart-searching,  she  obtained  peace,  and 
seemed  happy.  This  event  cheered  the  whole  house,  and 
the  remainder  of  the  time  before  our  removal  to  San 
Stefano  passed  pleasantly,  as  my  little  German  congre- 
gation showed  signs  of  spiritual  vitality,  and  the  more 
private  meetings  on  Sunday  afternoon  and  on  Thurs- 
day evening  were  truly  refreshing,  and  our  fellowship, 
sweet.  It  was  thus  that  we  happened  to  secure  the 
services  of  two  faithful  German  women,  one  of  whom 
had  had  the  plague,  and  both  of  whom  were  invaluable 
to  us  in  our  sad  experience  at  San  Stefano. 

The  house  which  we  and  the  Dwights  took  together 
was  a  large  Turkish  house,  in  front  of  which  was  an  ex- 
tensive vegetable  garden,    reaching   to   the   sea-shore. 


Threatened  Danger.  113 

Next  to  it  was  a  smaller  one,  occupied  by  our  Turkish 
landlord,  and  still  farther  on  toward  the  village  of  San 
Stefano,  was  a  small  habitation,  with  a  mill  worked  by 
horse  or  donkey  power,  which  the  owner  had  let  to  a 
poor  Italian  miller,  with  wife,  children,  and  servant,  eight 
persons  in  all. 

As  I  mentioned,  mother  took  care  of  the  household. 
I  continued  my  German  services  in  the  city,  and,  there- 
fore, went  in  every  Saturday,  generally  on  foot,  a  walk 
of  full  four  hours,  and  I  always  found  something  await- 
ing my  attention  in  the  city.  I  generally  came  back 
on  Tuesday,  thus  being  absent  from  home  some  three 
days  every  week.  Mr.  Dwight  had  no  missionary  work 
in  the  city,  and  could  take  care  of  his  family  comfortably. 

We  lived  very  happily  together.  The  Goodells  still 
lived  in  Pera.  The  presence  of  the  Commodore's 
family  in  the  village  was,  of  course,  a  great  comfort  to 
us,  and  our  intercourse  with  them  was  of  the  most 
friendly  character.  But  our  rural  happiness  was  soon 
broken  up.  The  plague  was  raging  dreadfully  in  the 
city,  and  in  going  there,  I  was  always  most  careful  to 
avoid  contact  with  people  about  whom  I  did  not  know. 
San  Stefano  had  thus  far  been  clean.  All  at  once, 
however,  we  heard  that  the  miller  had  brought  home 
the  plague  from  the  city,  and  was  sick.  So  it  proved  ! 
He  recovered  after  some  days,  and  walked  about,  a 
weak  convalescent,  but  his  wife  was  taken,  and  died  ; 
one  member  of  the  family  after  another  was  taken,  and 
all  died  there,  except  the  miller  himself,  and  the  servant, 
who  was  carried  away  to  the  Greek  plague  hospital,  and 
of  whom  we  never  heard  airain. 


CHAPTER    XI. 

THE   PLAGUE,   AND   ITS   SAD   RESULTS. 

ON  Saturday,  June  24,  I  went  to  the  city  as  usual. 
We  then  expected  three  German  missionaries 
on  their  way  home  from  Persia,  one  with  wife  and 
children ;  and  I  had  invited  them  to  take  up  their 
residence  in  our  house  in  Pera,  which  was  open. 
When  I  arrived  in  Pera,  I  found  them  there,  and  our 
house  was  indeed  full  and  cheerful.  Sunday  and  Mon- 
day passed  away  pleasantly,  and  on  Tuesday  I  invited 
the  two  single  missionaries  to  accompany  me  in  a  car- 
riage to  San  Stefano.  As  we  approached  the  house,  I 
looked  at  it  from  a  distance,  and  said  to  myself, 
*'  Perhaps  the  plague  is  already  in  that  house."  And 
so  it  was !  Mr.  A.,  Theresa's  husband,  (the  young  man 
from  Odessa,)  came  out.  ''  Is  all  well  ?  "  I  asked.  "  All 
well,  except  Mrs.  Dwight,  who  is  ailing  a  little  to-day," 
was  the  answer. 

As  we  came  up-stairs  I  heard  from  mother  that  Mrs. 
Dwight  was  in  bed.  We  spent  the  evening  at  Com- 
modore Porter's,  in  company  with  the  officers  of  a  U.  S. 
man-of-war,  which  had  cast  anchor  in  the  bay.  No  one 
thought  what  was  bursting  upon  us,  except  perhaps 
myself. 

When  the  doctor  came,  about  noon  on  the  29th,  he 
gave  it,  as  his  opinion,  that  both  Mrs.  Dwight  and 
(114) 


The  Plague,  and  its  Sad  Results.       115 

little  John  had  the  plague ;  as  there  was  no  remedy 
for  the  plague,  (nor  is  there  now,)  he  went  away  with- 
out prescribing,  after  having  advised  that  our  large 
family  be  immediately  scattered,  and  that  all  who  could 
be  spared  from  the  sick-bed,  go  into  clean  clothes  and 
new  quarters. 

Our  house  being  occupied  by  our  missionary  brethren 
from  Persia,  we  could  not  go  there,  but  it  was  concluded 
that  mother  and  myself,  and  Mrs.  Dwight's  nurse  with 
the  babe,  should  repair  to  the  Dvvight  house  in  Pera,  to 
keep  our  quarantine  there,  and  that  Mrs.  Deutsch,  with 
the  other  two  boys,  Harry  and  William  Dwight,  pitch 
a  tent  at  some  distance  behind  the  house. 

I  immediately  started  for  Pera  on  foot,  being  an 
unclean  man,  and  never  shall  I  forget  the  burning  heat 
of  that  afternoon,  as  I  passed  along  towards  the  Seven 
Towers.  It  seemed  ready  to  burn  me  up.  My  object 
was,  to  hire  a  couple  of  carriages  for  the  next  morning, 
to  remove  my  share  of  the  family  to  Pera.  On  coming 
to  the  clean  Pera  home  of  the  Dwights,  so  as  not  to  de- 
file it  with  my  dress,  I  carefully  took  clean  articles  out 
of  a  drawer,  entirely  undressed  myself  in  a  corner  of  an 
uncarpeted  room,  there  threw  my  clothes  upon  the 
wooden  floor,  walked  over  to  the  cleaner  side,  dressed 
there,  and  laid  me  down  to  sleep.  In  the  morning,  after 
a  sound  night's  rest,  I  got  up,  put  on  my  infected  clothes 
again,  took  carriages,  and  drove  out.  Here  no  one  need 
wonder  that  the  drivers  were  willing  to  engage  in  this 
service ;  for  drivers,  boatmen,  and  especially  porters, 
always  had  to  take  the  chances  as  they  came,  and  doubt- 
less many  of  them  fell  victims  to  their  respective  callings. 


ir6  Autobiography. 

When  I  reached  San  Stefano,  the  child  was  already 
buried.  Mrs.  Dwight  continued  ill,  and  hardly  con- 
scious. We  took  leave  of  her  at  the  open  door  of  the 
bedroom,  without  coming  into  contact  with  her.  She 
looked  towards  us  dreamily,  and  expressed  a  doubt 
whether  the  babe  was  sufficiently  covered.  Oh,  the 
undying  love  of  a  dying  mother!  We  never  experi- 
enced a  sadder  parting.  For  three  days  mother  had 
been  taking  care  of  Mrs.  Dwight  and  the  dying  child, 
for  whom  she  herself  went  to  order  the  rough  coffin, 
made  by  the  Commodore's  doorkeeper,  who  was  a  joiner. 
She  was,  of  course,  fully  and  alarmingly  exposed  to 
contagion. 

Henry's  birth  was  expected  in  September,  and  it  was 
well  that  mother's  nerves,  not  to  say  her  faith  and  trust 
in  God,  were  happily  and  fully  up  to  the  occasion. 
Calm  and  placid  she  went  about  her  duties,  even  with 
that  punctilious  attention  to  details,  which  still  charac- 
terizes her  modes  of  procedure.  Commodore  Porter 
afterwards  remarked  to  me:  ''I  was  astonished  at  the 
entire  calmness  of  Mrs.  Schauffler  in  her  terrible  situa- 
tion. She  came  over  here  when  Johnny  was  dead,  as 
though  it  was  a  common  occasion,  with  a  cane  in  her 
hand,  the  measure  for  the  little  coffin,  to  get  my  door- 
keeper to  make  it.  She  reminded  me  of  those  days 
when  I  used  to  battle  with  the  English.  When  I  then 
ordered  the  decks  cleared  for  action,  and  went  into  the 
fight,  I  used  to  feel  as  calm  as  though  I  was  sitting  at 
my  desk,  writing  ;  just  so  she  looked  with  the  stick  in  her 
hand.     I  admired  her."     The  Commodore  liked ////^/^. 

Arrived  at  the  clean  house,  we  changed  into  clean 


The  Plague,  and  its  Sad  Results.       117 

clothing.  Mother  had  no  small  trouble  with  the  utter- 
ly unreasonable  nurse,  who  would  touch  unclean  things 
and  mix  them  up  with  the  clean,  because  she  needed 
them.  When  it  was  declared  at  San  Stefano  that  we 
had  the  plague,  this  woman  and  Mrs.  Dwight's  Greek 
girl  immediately  ran  for  their  lives,  and  they  came  back 
merely  because  their  friends  would  not  let  them  into 
their  houses.  Now  she  would  handle  infected  things, 
*'  because  she  needed  them." 

During  our  fortnight  of  quarantine  in  the  Dwight 
house,  we  led  quite  a  patriarchal  life.  My  faithful  son 
in  the  Gospel,  Mr.  Marcussohn,  was  willing  to  come  in 
and  serve  us,  sharing  our  danger,  but  I  could  not  accept 
the  offer.  I  begged  him  simply  to  bring  our  dinners 
from  a  German  boarding-house  to  our  door.  Coffee  in 
the  morning,  and  tea  in  the  evening,  we  made  ourselves, 
and  were  kept  quite  busy  all  that  time,  in  purifying  in- 
fected things,  and  getting  ready  to  move  over  into  our 
clean  house  when  our  quarantine  should  be  over. 

During  the  quarantine,  I,  one  morning,  noticed  a  sus- 
picious pimple  on  my  knee.  On  letting  Dr.  Millingen 
see  it,  he  observed  that  it  looked  suspicious,  that  it  was 
a  doubtful  thing,  and  that  if  by  next  morning  it  was  as 
large  as  the  nail  on  my  little  finger,  it  was  a  plague 
carbuncle.  So  used  we  were  to  thoughts  of  death,  that 
I  went  home,  said  nothing  to  mother,  attended  to  my 
usual  duties,  enjoyed  my  supper,  and  slept  all  the  night 
till  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  I  then  looked  at  my 
knee,  and  finding  it  was  all  right,  I  told  her.  We  were 
thankful  for  the  happy  issue. 

After  our  quarantine,  we  moved  into  our  house,  and 


ii8  Autobiography. 

I  again  opened  my  German  services.  Disinfection  of 
clothes,  etc.,  still  had  to  be  carried  on,  till  we  were  per- 
fectly worn  out  with  the  increased  toil.  Meantime, 
Mrs.  Dwight  had  gone  to  her  rest,  dying  on  the  twelfth 
day,  when  Mr.  Dwight  also  pitched  a  tent  behind  the 
house.  The  quarantine  of  Mrs.  Deutsch,  with  the  two 
Dwight  boys,  was  now  finished  ;  they  moved  to  us,  so 
that  we  had  the  three  remaining  children  and  the  nurse 
of  the  Dwight  family  with  us.  With  this  unreasonable 
nurse  mother  had  endless  trouble.  She  declared  she 
must  go  out  and  see  her  friends, — a  thing  which  I  could 
not  permit,  for  the  plague  was  then  raging  furiously 
among  her  class  of  people, — and  I  repeatedly  and  de- 
cidedly told  her  that  if  she  went  out,  she  should  not 
come  back.  But  one  day,  without  any  pity  on  the 
poor  little  child,  she  went  away,  doubtless  relying  upon 
our  absolute  dependence  upon  her  services.  When  she 
was  gone,  I  immediately  went  about  in  search  of  a 
nurse,  and  Providence  favored  me  in  finding  a  healthy, 
active  young  woman.  We  had  to  take  the  risk  of  a 
new-comer,  but  she  was  clean  :  the  child  took  to  her 
naturally ;  she  soon  loved  him  as  her  own,  and  took  ex- 
cellent care  of  him.  In  the  evening  the  old  nurse  came, 
but  found  the  door  shut.  I  put  her  chattels  before  the 
door,  and  told  her  to  begone.  She  pleaded  that  she 
had  no  place  to  go  to,  nobody  would  let  her  in,  (which 
was  doubtless  a  lie,)  but  I  shut  my  door.  The  new 
nurse  removed  to  the  Goodell  family  with  the  child, 
and  took  care  of  him  till  he  was  weaned.  This  provi- 
dential help  may  seem  a  trifle  to  others  in  other  circum- 
stances ;  to  us  it  was  truly  a  God-sent  help. 


The  Plague,  and  its  Sad  Results.       119 

Meantime,  Mr.  Dwight  made  his  quarantine  in  his  tent. 
I  went  out  once  to  see  him,  and  we  had  prayers  together 
in  the  open  air,  but  coming  into  no  contact  with  one 
another.  His  consolations  were  abundant.  His  peace 
was  like  a  river,  yea,  like  a  sea !  His  face  looked  like 
the  face  of  an  angel.  His  habitual  stern  look  was  gone, 
and  this  remarkable  change  in  his  appearance  was  after- 
wards noticed  by  all  his  friends. 

But  our  trials,  arising  from  the  terrible  disease,  were 
by  no  means  over.  While  Mrs.  Dwight's  sickness  last- 
ed, Theresa  assisted  Mr.  Dwight  in  taking  care  of  her 
up-stairs,  and  her  husband  did  the  work  down-stairs  in 
the  kitchen.  The  rest  were  strictly  separated  when  the 
house  was  cleansed  (sufficiently,  they  thought).  Mr. 
A.  and  Theresa,  and  a  young  Jewish  inquirer,  who  was 
also  in  our  service,  with  another  man,  returned  to  their 
former  intercourse,  to  perform  quarantine  in  the  house. 
But  alas  !  before  their  quarantine  was  finished,  we  heard 
that  our  Christian  cabinet-maker,  Mr.  Walter,  was  taken. 
He  was  out  at  San  Stefano  to  do  some  work  at  Com- 
modore Porter's,  felt  rather  sick  while  there,  and  went 
home  to  lie  down  on  his  death-bed. 

Theresa,  benevolent  creature,  now  sent  up,  asking 
my  permission  to  go  and  take  care  of  ''  Brother  Walter." 
How  could  I  decline  ?  She  went,  and  gave  him  all  the 
earthly  comforts  his  sad  situation  admitted  of.  He  knew 
what  had  befallen  him,  and  expected  to  go,  and  so  he 
did.  She  talked  with  him,  and  prayed  with  him,  and 
when  he  felt  that  his  end  was  coming,  he  asked  her  to 
sing  once  more  for  him.  She  then  prayed  with  him 
once  more,  and  as  his  feet  touched  the  deep  Jordan 


120  Autobiography. 

waters,  she  said  to  him,  (speaking  close  to  his  ear,) 
''  Give  my  love  to  Mrs.  Dwight."  He  nodded  assent, 
and  was  gone  ! 

Theresa  had  once  more  earned  the  tribute  of  gratitude 
Mr.  Dwight  bestows  upon  her  in  his  book,  when  he 
says :  ''  I  cannot  but  remember  with  tearful  gratitude 
the  good  mercy  of  the  Lord,  in  providing  for  me  so 
faithful  an  assistant  in  the  time  of  distress.  Had  she 
been  a  domestic  of  the  country,  she  would  have  fled  on 
the  very  first  appearance  of  the  disease.  As  it  was,  she 
remained  by  me  to  the  very  last,  often  mingling  her 
prayers  and  tears  with  mine.  She  is  poor  in  this 
world's  goods,  but  rich  in  faith  and  good  works,  and 
full  of  the  joyful  hope  of  a  glorious  immortality.  The 
last  thing  I  forget,  when  all  my  memory  fails,  will  be  the 
single-hearted  kindness  and  the  persevering  faithfulness 
of  Theresa.  The  Lord  grant  her  a  rich  reward  in 
heaven ! "  This  about  a  woman  who  once  was  an 
abandoned  character ! 

Good  Theresa's  nursing  duties  were  not  yet  all  per- 
formed. We  had  in  our  house  a  young  Jew  by  the 
name  of  Adler,  not  yet  baptized,  but  whom  I  intended 
to  admit  to  baptism,  as  he  seemed  to  give  evidence  of 
conversion.  When  Theresa  returned  from  nursing  Mr. 
Walter,  their  quarantine,  of  course,  began  anew.  All 
w^ere  to  keep  themselves  strictly  from  contact  with 
promiscuous  persons.  But  on  the  thirty-ninth  day  of 
their  second  quarantine,  Adler,  disobeying  orders,  went 
to  the  city  to  buy  tobacco,  etc.,  and  readily  caught  the 
plague.  He  called  at  our  house,  and  complained  of 
pain  in  his  arm.     I  knew  this  was  one  of  the  first  symp- 


The  Plague,  and  its  Sad  Results.       121 

toms  of  plague,  and  as  there  was  no  other  cause  for  the 
pain,  I  ordered  him  to  go  right  back  to  San  Stefano, 
keeping  myself  from  contact  with  him.  He  went  home, 
and  laid  himself  down,  apparently  doomed  to  die.  Mr. 
A.,  Theresa's  husband,  wrote  me,  either  to  come  out 
and  baptize  the  dying  man,  as  he  greatly  desired  bap- 
tism before  his  death,  or  to  permit  him  to  perform  the 
act  in  this  case  of  special  need.  He  was  baptized,  accord- 
ingly, by  Mr.  A.  He  recovered,  however ;  but  the 
quarantine  of  the  whole  company  at  San  Stefano  had  to 
be  begun  afresh,  all  trouble  and  expense  of  the  previous 
quarantine  going  for  nothing.  Before  the  divine  disci- 
pline was  quite  completed,  the  plague-tide  seemed  to 
set  back  once  more,  and  that  under  such  peculiar  circum- 
stances, that,  had  it  really  been  another  case  of  plague, 
I  do  not  believe  we  should  have  survived  the  trial. 

This  brings  us  to  the  birth  of  Henry.  When  this 
event  came  on,  we  had  but  just  reached  a  condition  that 
might  be  called  free  from  contagion,  and  somewhat 
orderly.  The  quarantine  of  our  people  in  the  country, 
after  the  case  of  Adler,  had  at  last  come  to  a  termina- 
tion, and  it  was  but  a  couple  of  days,  perhaps,  before 
Henry  was  born,  when  Theresa,  fully  purified,  came  in 
to  join  us  at  Pera.  Unfortunately,  her  heedless  hus- 
band, before  she  left  San  Stefano,  made  her  wash  out 
some  of  Adler's  infected  clothes,  which  it  seemed  very 
desirable  to  have  clean.  She  did  it,  and  came  in,  saying 
nothing.  But  proximity  to  the  contagious  matter  of 
these  clothes  gave  her  a  terrible  shock  soon  after,  al- 
though it  really  seemed  that  she  was  fully  proof  against 
a  real  attack. 
6 


122  Autobiography. 

Henry  was  born  on  the  4th  of  September,  1837. 
Theresa's  room  was  right  under  ours,  and  there,  instead 
of  being  now  helpful  to  us  in  our  need,  she  was  seized 
with  a  raging  fever  and  headache.  Her  deep  groans 
were  perfectly  audible  in  our  bedroom  up-stairs.  On 
learning  the  cause  of  this  attack,  I  could  not  but  realize 
that  possibly  she  might,  after  all,  have  a  real  attack  of 
the  plague  again,  and  I  had  no  doubt,  if  this  fourth 
attack  came  upon  us,  as  we  were  then  situated,  we 
should  not  endure  the  trial.  For  some  four  months  we 
had  been  simply  fighting  for  our  lives,  and  if  now  we 
were  to  be  thrown  back  again  into  the  same  fire,  as  in 
Mrs.  Dwight's  case,  it  would  seem  that  our  doom  was 
divinely  decided  and  sealed,  and  that  we  had  better 
submit  without  fighting  any  more.  Many  a  family  be- 
fore us  had  been  thus  extinguished  in  Constantinople  ; 
why  should  we  be  spared  ?  But  it  was  not  so  to  be. 
Theresa's  attack  was  one  of  the  ordinary  kind  in  such 
cases,  and  she  soon  recovered.  But  it  took  all  the 
strength  of  mother's  nervous  system,  with  her  babe  by 
her  side,  to  bear  up  against  this  trial. 

Here  ends  my  plague  chapter,  and  I  never  wish  to 
report  another  while  I  live.  When  the  lease  of  our 
house  expired,  not  many  weeks  after  Henry's  birth,  we 
gave  if  up,  and  took  Mr.  Dwight's  off  his  hands,  to 
save  the  rent,  as  he  had  it  for  another  year.  We  moved 
into  it  some  time  in  October,  I  think,  and  thus  we  had 
actually  moved  five  times  in  a  year.  Considering  the 
difficulty  of  moving  then,  and  the  peril  we  had  to  incur 
each  time  we  came  into  such  close  contact  with  the 
porters  who  carried  our  things,  and  who  habitually  and 


The  Plague,  and  its  Sad  Results.       123 

daily  carried  corpses  on  their  backs  to  burial,  it  seemed 
sufficient  to  kill  anybody  with  fatigue  and  respon- 
sibility, to  move  with  bag  and  baggage  five  times  within 
such  a  period. 

At  last  we  became  settled,  and  began  to  live  again. 
The  German  services  were  now  held  in  our  house. 

But  before  we  had  left  this  house  for  Mr.  Dwight's, 
my  brother,  with  his  wife  and  daughter,  arrived  from 
Odessa,  on  their  way  to  America.  They  went  with  us 
to  the  new  house,  where  they  remained  until  they  left 
for  America  in  the  spring  of  1838. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

A  LONELY  JOURNEY  —  TRANSLATION  OF  THE  OLD 
TESTAMENT. 

THE  winter  passed  very  pleasantly  after  our  long 
storm  and  fight  during  the  summer  and  fall- 
In  September,  the  heat  rose  to  such  a  height  as  to  kill 
the  plague  within  a  week's  time  ;  for  dry  and  very  hot 
weather  was  always  a  favorable  state  of  the  atmosphere, 
whereas  a  summer  rain  was  invariably  followed  by  fresh 
cases  of  plague.  From  October,  1837,  onward,  through 
the  whole  winter,  we  had  no  more  cases  of  plague.  It 
was  said  that  the  Turkish  government  acknowledged 
107,000  deaths  in  Constantinople  by  this  disease,  during 
the  last  plague  season. 

While  we  lived  in  this  house,  in  the  spring  of  1838,  a 
case  of  missionary  experience  occurred,  exhibiting  an 
exercise  of  faith  quite  in  the  fashion  of  my  native  coun- 
try of  "VViirtemberg,  and  as  we  had  a  hand  in  it,  I  hope 
American-shaped  minds  will  still  appreciate  the  pecu- 
liarity of  the  case,  and  profit  by  it,  and  so  I  will  insert 
it  here. 

One  morning  a  young  lady  from  my  native  country, 
with  a  letter  of  introduction,  was  brought  to  our  door. 
She  was  betrothed  to  a  missionary  pastor,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
R.,  also  from  Wiirtemberg,  who  labored  in  Tiflis,  in 
the  Caucasus,  and  thither  she  was  going,  all  alone^  to  be 
(124) 


A  Lonely  Journey.  125 

married  to  him.  Her  name  was  F.  R.  Mr.  R.  passed 
through  Constantinople,  in  1836,  during  our  absence  at 
Odessa,  to  proceed  to  his  post  in  Russia.  It  was  soon 
manifest  that,  as  pastor  of  a  large  German  community, 
he  must  be  married,  and  as  such  things  were  then  still 
managed  rather  patriarchally  by  the  German  mission- 
aries, he  wrote  to  his  good  native  land,  to  Christian 
people,  to  pick  out  a  good,  pious  wife  for  him,  and  send 
her  on.  He  was  too  poor,  and  the  way  was  too  long, 
and  his  duties  too  pressing,  to  permit  his  going  to  get  a 
wife  for  himself.  Miss  R.  consented  to  go,  like  Rebecca, 
who  had  never  seen  Isaac,  nor  he  her ;  but  alas  !  Mr.  R. 
had  sent  no  Eliezer  with  camels  and  servants.  She  was 
to  wait  for  an  opportunity  to  make  the  long  journey 
down  the  Danube  to  Constantinople,  Trebizond,  Re- 
doot  Kal^,  and  thence  up  the  caravan  road  to  Tiflis,  on 
the  Caucasus.  Such  opportunities,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
were  then  exceedingly  rare,  and  the  poor  child  waited 
and  waited,  and  Mr.  R.,  poorer  still  than  she,  would 
have  been  desperate,  had  he  not  been  blessed  with  a 
quiet,  almost  phlegmatic  spirit.  Once  Miss  R.  went  to 
Kronthal,  and  old  Mr.  H.,  the  patriarch  of  Wurtem- 
berg,  asked  her :  ''  Well,  F.,  how  is  it  with  you  ?  Have 
you  found  no  opportunity  yet  to  go  ?  "  "  No,  Mr.  H.," 
was  the  reply.  "  Well,  F.  dear,  I  will  tell  you  one 
thing :  if  you  have  fatt/i,  you  can  go  around  the  world 
alone ;  but  if  you  are  in  doubt  or  fear,  then  wait  for  an 
opportunity."  This  was  Father  H.'s  conviction,  and 
he  was  known  to  have  tried  faithfully  what  /ait/i  can 
do.  F.  tJwiight  she  had  fait h^  and  preparations  were 
immediately   made   for   her   departure.      She   started. 


126.  Autobiography. 

While  on  the  Danube,  where  everybody  knew  German, 
all  went  well.  But  when  she  descended  below  Vienna, 
where  all  kinds  of  languages  are  spoken,  she  began  to 
feel  anxious,  for  she  knew  only  German,  Farther 
down,  where  no  German  was  heard,  at  one  of  the  land- 
ing-places, a  gentleman  came  on  board,  bringing  with 
him  an  elderly  lady  and  a  young  one,  apparently  her 
daughter.  They  spoke  German.  Timidly  she  approach- 
ed them.  "  Will  you  excuse  me  for  asking  to  what 
place  you  are  going?"  she  asked.  ''To  Constantino- 
ple," was  the  reply.  "  Do  you  know  a  certain  Mr. 
Schauffler  there,  a  missionary  ?  "  "  Certainly,"  the 
gentleman  replied,  "  I  was  his  physician  before  I  left." 
"Can  you  show  me  where  he  lives?"  she  said.  "  Cer- 
tainly, we  pass  by  his  house  as  we  go  up  to  Pera,  and  I 
will  drop  you  at  his  very  door,"  was  the  Doctor's  com- 
forting reply.  Thus  the  inexperienced  traveler  was 
provided  with  protection,  and  an  interpreter  and  guide 
to  our  very  threshold. 

Miss  R.  naturally  stayed  with  us  till  she  could  leave 
for  Trebizond,  during  which  time  mother  fitted  her  out 
for  her  land  journey  up  the  Caucasus.  As  far  as  Treb- 
izond, she  was  put  under  the  care  of  the  elder  Cap- 
tain F.,  father  of  a  large  family,  and  very  friendly  to 
missionaries,  who  was  also  to  furnish  Miss  R.  with  a 
dragoman.  One  of  the  subordinates  on  board  also  spoke 
German. 

At  Trebizond  there  were  the  two  missionary  families, 
Johnston  and  Jackson,  to  whom  I  wrote,  explaining  all 
her  object  and  her  need,  as  neither  of  them  knew 
German.     But  the  Lord  had  interpreters  enough  in  the 


A  Lonely  Journey.  127 

world,  it  seems,  for  there  came  out  of  the  interior  a 
traveling  gentleman,  a  German,  who  knew  English,  and 
who  stayed  with  our  friends,  the  missionaries,  while  he 
remained.  When  he  was  gone,  and  it  was  manifestly 
desirable  that  Miss  R.  should  proceed,  Mr.  Johnston, 
looking  around  in  the  port  for  a  suitable  opportunity 
for  her  to  go,  quite  unexpectedly  encountered  an  old 
German  merchant,  a  solid-looking  man,  who  had  char- 
tered a  vessel  for  Redoot  Kale,  whither  he  was  also  going 
himself.  Being  asked  whether  he  would  take  such  a 
young  German  lady,  *'  Most  certainly,*'  he  said,  "  she 
shall  be  like  my  daughter.  No  one  shall  speak  an 
unkind  word  to  her."  So  Miss  R.  had  a  vessel,  a  pro- 
tector, and  an  interpreter  again.  When  they  arrived 
at  Redoot  Kale,  she  stepped  on  shore,  and  lo !  now  she 
was  in  a  Russian  quarantine,  and  knew  neither  language 
nor  people.  She  looked  out  through  the  gratings,  and 
beheld  a  gentleman  walking  up  and  down  outside.  He 
looked  in,  and  seeing  her,  he  asked,  in  German,  ''  Are 
you  F.  R.?"  ''Are  you  Mr.  R.  ? "  she  returned.  It 
was  he.  And  thus  she  was  again  provided  with  a  pro- 
tector and  traveling  companion,  not  only  up  the  Cau- 
casus to  Tiflis,  but  through  life.  Old  Father  H.  was 
right. 

In  the  spring  of  1838,  Sultan  Mahmoud  established  a 
quarantine,  and  health  regulations  for  vessels  arriving 
from  other  ports.  This  was  chiefly  intended  to  keep 
out  Egyptian  plague,  which  was  being  continually 
introduced  by  vessels  from  that  country.  During  an 
interruption  of  intercommunication  between  Egypt 
and  Turkey,  on  account  of  war,  this  country  had  re- 


128  Autobiography. 

mained  free  from  that  scourge  ;  but  as  soon  as  Egyptian 
vessels  began  again  to  arrive,  the  plague  recommenced, 
and  visited  us  every  year  with  entire  regularity.  The 
quarantine  regulations,  thus  recently  established,  were, 
of  course,  exceedingly  imperfect,  and  managed  with  a 
marvelous  want  of  consistency ;  still  they  proved 
entirely  efficient.  During  1838,  I  heard  of  but  one 
house  in  Pera  where  the  plague  showed  itself,  and  that 
house  being  closed  till  thoroughly  purified,  the  family 
having  been  transferred  into  clean  quarters  to  keep 
their  quarantine  there,  no  further  case  of  plague  was 
heard  of,  nor  has  it  ever  appeared  since. 

I  was  now  hard  at  work,  translating  the  Old  Testa- 
ment into  the  Hebrew-Spanish,  i.  e.,  the  corrupt  Spanish 
of  the  Sefardee  Jews  living  here,  which  is  spelled  in 
their  odd  way,  with  Rabbinic  characters.  The  Amer- 
ican Bible  Society  had  agreed  to  print  it,  and  bore  the 
expense  of  an  amanuensis  to  prepare  the  MS.  I  believe 
this  was  the  first  work  the  American  Bible  Society  ever 
did  outside  of  the  Uitited  States,  I  think  the  records  of 
that  society  will  show  the  fact.  As  soon  as  they  had 
announced  that  they  were  ready  to  go  abroad,  I  wrote 
to  propose  the  publication  of  this  work,  to  which  they 
very  generously  consented.  I  had  already  been  pursu- 
ing this  work  for  a  year  past,  but  now  pressed  on, 
wishing,  if  possible,  to  begin  printing  it  in  1839.  With 
Rabbi  Shemtob  established  in  the  corner  of  the  sofa,  in 
my  study,  and  lexicons  and  the  chief  rabbinic  commen- 
taries in  folio  volumes  spread  all  around,  I  labored 
through  the  year,  till  the  spring  of  1839.  Here  I  ought 
to  say,  in  order  not  to  appear  as  boasting  of  other 


Translation  of  the  Old  Testament.     129 

men's  work,  that  a  translation  of  the  Old  Testament 
into  the  Hebrew-Spanish  existed  before,  and  I  owned 
copies  of  the  whole,  in  several  editions.  But  aside  from 
the  fact  that  it  was  not  only  frequently  a  mistranslation, 
the  style  was  also  unnecessarily  corrupt,  and  Hebraizing 
more  strongly  than  seemed  to  me  necessary.  The 
agent  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  thought, 
indeed,  this  old  version  might  be  published  as  it  was  ; 
but  Mr.  Lewis,  Jewish  missionary  in  Smyrna,  was  in 
favor  of  a  slight  revision,  and  Mr.  Farman,  here,  of  a 
more  thorough  one.  He  was  inclined  to  share  the  re- 
sponsibility with  me.  But  the  London  Jews'  Society 
Committee,  objecting  to  this  co-operation,  the  work 
was  thrown  upon  me  alone.  I  felt  the  sole  responsi- 
bility of  deciding  upon  the  style  of  the  version  to 
be  very  heavy,  in  view  of  the  hostile,  caviling  spirit 
of  the  Jews,  for  whom  it  was  intended.  But  I  had 
to  take  it,  and  being  left  to  my  own  judgment,  I  went 
farther  in  adapting  the  style  to  what  might  be  con- 
sidered respectable  Spanish,  than  either  of  the  others 
would  have  consented  to  do.  The  event  proved  that 
the  style  was  entirely  acceptable  to  the  Jews  here,  but 
that  my  review  was  not  thorough  enough  in  removing 
the  Hebraizing  forms  of  expression.  What  would  it 
have  been  if  I  had  been  trammeled  by  the  co-operation 
of  more  timid  revisers?  So  often  must  a  missionary 
work  in  the  dark  !  Even  the  spelling  of  the  language 
I  had  to  fix,  for  their  rules  of  spelling  were  not  entirely 
settled.  In  this,  also,  I  was  happy,  for  no  objection 
was  ever  made,  either  to  the  style  or  the  spelling  of  my 
version. 

6* 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

PERSECUTION — GOING  TO   GERMANY. 

MY  Spanish  translation  of  the  Bible  went  on  regu- 
larly, and  was  finished  before  we  left  for  Vienna, 
except  the  book  of  Job,  which  would  have  been  too 
difficult  for  my  Rabbi  to  understand,  I  reserved  it  to 
do  alone. 

In  February,  1839,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hamlin  arrived,  and 
moved  into  our  house,  which  they  were  to  occupy  when 
we  should  leave. 

It  had  been  determined  that  I  should  repair  to  Ger- 
many for  the  purpose  of  printing  my  Hebrew-Spanish 
Bible,  as  there  were  no  facilities  for  doing  the  work  at 
Constantinople,  or  at  the  mission  printing-office  in 
Smyrna.  Vienna  and  Leipsic  were  the  two  places  like- 
ly to  furnish  the  best  opportunity,  and  as  the  work  of 
publication  would  probably  occupy  more  than  a  year,  I 
was  to  take  my  family  with  me. 

Before  we  left  for  Germany,  the  first  heavy  storm  of 
persecution  burst  upon  us,  threatening  to  sweep  away 
the  entire  station.  The  Armenian  patriarchs,  one  after 
another,  had  tried  sundry  means  to  crush  the  spark  of 
religious  inquiry,  and  the  desire  for  instruction,  among 
their  people,  but  they  had  never  proceeded  to  actual 
persecution.  They  had  broken  up  our  great  school  at 
Pera,  and  that  just  at  a  time  when  the  money  panic  of 
(130) 


Persecution.  131 

1837,  in  America,  obliged  the  American  Board  so  to 
reduce  their  appropriations,  as  to  render  the  closing  of 
that  institution  necessary.  That  act  of  persecution 
was,  therefore,  a  help  to  the  mission,  for  they  closed  it 
really  because  they  wished  to  teach  their  pupils  to  be 
obedient  to  ''  the  powers  that  be,"  so  long  as  their  re- 
quirements were  not  positively  sinful.  It  was,  further, 
very  fortunate  for  the  cause,  because  now  a  rich  banker 
in  Hasskeuy  was  induced  to  take  the  matter  of  educa- 
tion into  his  own  hands,  and  he  opened,  at  his  private 
expense,  not  a  school  for  eighty  scholars,  but  a  school 
for  eight  hundred,  and  not  for  boys  only,  but  for  both 
sexes.  Besides,  he  bought  from  the  mission  their 
whole  school  apparatus,  and  thus  refunded  the  outlay 
of  the  needy  Board.  And  nov/,  as  that  great  school 
was  really  an  Armenian  national  institution,  Baron* 
Hohannes  (our  own  former  teacher)  could  act  more 
freely,  and  never  was  Gospel  truth  dispensed  to  children 
and  youth  with  more  liberal  hands,  than  at  that  school. 
It  did  not,  however,  last  long.  After  the  Armenian 
patriarch  had  vainly  tried  to  induce  the  banker  to  dis- 
band the  school,  he  set  the  other  bankers  to  work,  and 
they  made  him  feel  that  such  a  shov/  of  wealth  as  the 
support  of  so  large  an  educational  enterprise  must 
make,  would  render  the  government  suspicious  and 
jealous,  and  bring  down  vengeance  upon  him.  And  as 
his  zeal  for  light  and  progress  was  not  mixed  yMiih  faith, 
it  failed  ;  in  view  of  these  threatening  dangers,  the 
school  was  accordingly  disbanded.     At  that  time  there 


*  Armenian  for  Mr. 


T32  Autobiography. 

had  already  been  much  excitement  among  the  Arme- 
nians, on  account  of  Der  Vertanes,  the  priest  of  Nico- 
media,  and  one  of  his  fellow-priests,  who  appeared  to 
be  truly  converted,  and,  in  consequence,  ceased  to  per- 
form their  sacerdotal  functions.  The  idea  that  Arme- 
nian priests  should  become  "  Gospel-men,"  as  our  in- 
quirers were  then  called,  was  truly  alarming,  and  the 
hierarchy  resolved  that  something  must  now  be  done 
to  stop  the  collapse  of  their  trade,  as  well  as  of  their  in- 
fluence. Boghos  Physica  and  Baron  Hohannes  were 
selected  as  the  victims  of  persecution,  to  strike  terror 
into  the  rest,  and  make  an  end  of  Gospelism.  K  firman 
for  their  exile  into  the  far  interior  of  Asia  Minor,  was 
obtained  from  Sultan  Mahmoud.  Baron  Hohannes  was 
a  healthy  young  man,  but  Physica  was  very  frail.  Such 
exiles  were  conducted  to  the  place  of  their  destination, 
at  their  own  expense,  by  a  Tartar,  who  tyrannized 
over  them  as  he  pleased,  extracting  as  much  money 
from  them  as  possible.  They  were  confined  at  Scutari, 
preparatory  to  their  departure.  Nothing  could  be 
done  for  their  release,  nothing  for  their  relief,  by  us, 
but  they  had  some  friends  among  their  own  people, 
who  visited  them,  and  who  told  us  that  they  were  re- 
signed to  their  lot  with  admirable  calmness,  counting 
it  all  joy  to  be  persecuted  for  Christ's  sake.  Before 
they  were  hurried  away  to  their  exile,  the  old  priest 
from  Nicomedia  came  across  from  Scutari,  to  bring  us 
word  from  them.  At  Mr.  Goodell's  study  I  saw  him. 
"  Alas  for  these  two  young,  tender  brethren,"  he  said, 
'■'  that  tJiey  should  be  used  so  roughly  ;  if  it  had  been  I 
and  Der  Vertanes,  we  should  not  have  minded  it  so 


Persecution.  i33 

much,  for  we  are  old  and  used  to  hardship,  but  they 
are  so  young !  "     Hohannes,  certainly,  was  so,  and  had 
never  seen  any  great  hardships.     He  (the  priest)  went 
right  back  to  them,  to  see  them  once  more.     We  re- 
monstrated with  him,  as  it  was  windy  and  stormy  and 
snowing  hard,  and,   therefore,  dangerous  to  cross  the 
Bosporus   in   a  row-boat.     "  I  do  not  mind  that,"  he 
said,  "  I   must  see  them  once   more  before  they  go." 
We  knelt  down  for  prayer.     The  old  man  prayed,  with 
his  face  on  the  carpet,  in  a  most  touching,  tender  man- 
ner, for  these  "  young  brethren,"  and  then  went  away. 
There   was   another    individual    against    whom    the 
Patriarch  directed  his  blows,--a  deacon  of  the  Arme- 
nian   Church,    from    Eastern    India,  who    had    come 
here,  on  what  errand  I  never  learned.     He  had  been 
having  intercourse  with  missionaries  there,  and  appear- 
ed a  thoroughly  enlightened,  perhaps  a  truly  converted 
man.     He  seemed  desirous  to  co-operate  with  the  mis- 
sionaries here  in  enlightening  his  people,  and  he  called 
upon  us  freely  during  the  short  time  allotted  to  him, 
and  spoke  very  well  indeed.    He  was  a  Russian  subject. 
The  Patriarch  had  him  seized  and  imprisoned,  while 
the  two  exiles  were  being  hastily  prepared  to  go  into 
banishment. 

As  I  was  well  acquainted  with  the  Russian  Ambassa- 
dor, (his  lady  being  a  Protestant,  and  coming  frequently 
to  my  German  services,)  we  concluded  to  inform  him  of 
the  fact,  that  one  of  his  protege's  was  unlawfully  im- 
prisoned. No  diplomat  was  ever  more  impenetrable 
than  he,  and  I  suspect  the  Armenian  Patriarch  had 
been  shrewd  enough  to   inform  His  Excellency  of  the 


1 34  Autobiography. 

necessity  of  this  step  for  the  purpose  of  guarding  their 
church  interests,  and  to  assure  him  that  the  prot^g^  of 
Russia  should  not  be  harmed.  But  the  Patriarch's 
chief  aim,  if  within  reach  of  human  accomplishment, 
was  the  expulsion  of  the  American  missionaries  from 
Turkey ;  and,  considering  the  character  of  Sultan  Mah- 
moud,  there  seemed  to  be  a  chance  for  that, — indeed, 
many  circumstances  favored  such  a  possibility. 

The  American  Minister  was  new,  and  was  only  an 
Envoy  of  the  second  grade.  Besides,  he  entertained 
the  idea  that,  as  the  treaty  with  the  United  States  was  a 
commercial  treaty,  he  had  no  right  to  protect  the  mis- 
sionaries  in  their  character  and  work  as  such,  although, 
in  fact,  tJiat  treaty  puts  Americans  in  Turkey  on  the  same 
footing  "  with  the  most  favored  nations  y'  and  secures 
to  them  in  future  all  the  advantages  which  any  others 
might  attain.  We  did  not  know  his  views  at  the  time. 
When  they  afterwards  came  out,  and  the  missionaries 
appealed  to  our  government  through  the  American 
Board,  Daniel  Webster,  then  Secretary  of  State,  wrote 
to  him,  that  our  government  entertained  entirely  differ- 
ent views  from  his  on  the  subject  of  the  rights  of  Amer- 
ican citizens  in  Turkey ;  that  they  had  a  right,  like  any 
other  foreigners,  among  whom  were  many  ecclesiastics, 
to  pursue  any  lawful  calling  ;  that  the  President  felt 
deeply  interested  in  the  work  of  the  missionaries,  and 
that  they  should  be  fully  protected  in  Turkey.  Aside 
from  the  position  our  own  Ambassador  would  have 
taken,  when  Mr.  Homes  and  myself  called  upon  the 
Russian  Ambassador,  impenetrable  as  he  always  was,  I 
thought   I  perceived,  that  he  was  not   uninformed  of 


Persecution.  135 

what  was  going  on,  and  that  we  ourselves  could  not 
reckon  upon  his  countenance  in  anything.  The  English 
Ambassador  was  utterly  inaccessible,  wholly  absorbed 
in  diplomatic  questions,  and  no  friend  to  aiiy  religion 
whatever.  The  Dutch,  Swedish,  and  Prussian  Lega- 
tions were  just  then  in  the  charge  of  subordinates,  who 
were  all  Catholics,  and  the  French  and  Austrian  Am- 
bassadors considered  themselves  the  official  protectors 
of  the  Catholic  priests  and  of  the  interests  of  their 
Church,  and  these  required  our  expulsion,  if  practica- 
ble. We  had  absolutely  no  human  prop  to  lean  upon. 
Supposing,  therefore,  that  we  should  have  to  go,  we 
drew  up  a  protestation  of  our  innocence,  declaring, 
among  other  things,  that  we  had  not  come  to  draw 
away  any  members  from  Christian  churches,  or  build 
up  a  Protestant  denomination,  but  simply  to  offer  our 
help  to  the  Eastern  churches  in  returning  from  the 
abuses  gradually  obtaining  ground,  and  the  supersti- 
tious practices  which  they  themselves  acknowledge  to 
be  unscriptural,  to  simple  and  pure  Gospel  ground,  ac- 
cording to  their  own  Scriptures ;  and  we  protested 
that,  if  we  were  expelled  from  the  country,  it  was  a 
simple  act  of  violence,  without  any  ground  of  justifica- 
tion in  our  conduct.  Our  plea  of  non-sectarianism  was 
then  strictly  true.  At  that  time  there  existed  no  ex- 
pectation or  intention  of  creating  a  Protestant  denomi- 
nation. How  far  the  representatives  of  foreign  powers 
(aside  from  ours)  believed  our  report  on  the  subject,  I 
do  not  know.  It  seems  to  me  probable  that  they 
thought  it  a  mere  pretence,  for  sectarianism  is  the  life 
of  all  these  religious  bodies,  including  the  Turks.     The 


136  Autobiography. 

Russian  Ambassador,  in  our  interview,  alluded  cautious- 
ly to  this  written  declaration,  and  expressed  (no  doubt 
sincerely)  his  high  personal  regard  for  the  American 
missionaries.  He  said  he  would  attend  to  the  im- 
prisoned protdgh  of  Russia,  thanked  me  for  the  com- 
munication of  the  fact,  etc.  In  fact,  that  imprisoned 
deacon  was  soon  released,  but  where  he  went  afterwards 
we  never  learned. 

Having  everything  against  us,  and  no  hope,  humanly 
speaking,  of  bearing  up  against  this  sudden  storm,  we 
considered  it  a  fortunate  circumstance  that  at  least  one 
of  us  was  ready  to  leave  the  city  and  the  empire,  for  the 
present,  of  his  ozvn  accord,  hoping  that  if  the  rest  must 
go  compulsorily,  the  one  leaving  of  his  own  choice 
might  afterwards  return.  Mother  and  myself,  therefore, 
made  all  haste,  as  our  time  to  leave  was  at  any  rate 
fully  come.  We  had  planned  to  go  across  to  Odessa, 
and  we  left  Constantinople  on  the  7th  of  May,  1839,  i^ 
a  Russian  steamer.  Such  was  our  state  of  confusion, 
in  consequence  of  the  persecution  raised  against  us,  that 
our  treasurer,  Mr.  Goodell,  gave  me  no  letter  of  credit 
on  Vienna,  nor  did  I  think  of  it,  nor  of  money,  till  we 
were  actually  on  board. 

The  weather  was  delightful  as  we  steamed  up  the 
Bosporus.  We  had  distinguished  company  on  board 
as  far  as  Buyukder^.  Mr.  Fuhrman,  First  Secretary  of 
the  Russian  Embassy,  and  one  of  my  German  flock, 
was  going  to  Rome  as  Ambassador,  and  Mr.  Boutineff, 
the  Russian  Ambassador,  and  Count  Stiirmer,  the 
Austrian  Ambassador,  politely  accompanied  him  up 
the  Bosporus.     Here  I  should  not  forget  that,  in  the 


Going  to  Germany.  137 

midst  of  the  persecution  and  the  reproach  heaped  upon 
us  before  we  left,  Mons.  and  Madame  Boutineff  gave 
us  a  call,  to  testify  to  their  personal  regard  for  us.  The 
Ambassador's  party,  high  and  low,  were  very  courteous 
towards  us.  Mons.  Boutineff  in  particular,  labored  to 
show  us  special  attention.  He  walked  the  deck  with 
me,  and  took  this  opportunity  to  say  a  few  things 
more,  explanatory  of  his  delicate  official  position. 

We  arrived  safely  and  comfortably  at  the  quarantine 
of  Odessa,  but  our  transfer  from  our  supposed  infected 
clothes  into  clean  ones  was  a  dangerous  operation.  To 
strip  entirely  and  leave  our  clothes  in  one  corner  of  the 
room,  and  to  put  on  the  dress  from  the  city,  brought 
by  our  friends,  was  certainly  running  a  risk,  as  it  had 
to  be  done  in  a  large,  damp,  cold  room.  Mother  had 
been  ailing  all  the  winter.  The  doctor  had  seemed  to 
be  at  a  loss  what  to  do  for  her,  and  had  advised  our 
leaving  Constantinople  as  soon  as  we  could.  He 
thought  she  would  improve  by  a  change  of  air  more 
than  by  any  other  means,  and  now  that  she  was  to  go 
through  this  Russian  quarantine  ordeal,  I  felt  very  anx- 
ious for  her.  But  Providence  favored  us.  She  took 
no  cold,  and  after  about  two  months'  stay  in  and 
about  Odessa,  we  set  out  in  a  hired  carriage  for  Vienna, 
and  reached  there  not  long  before  Edward's  birth,  and 
mother  never  again  experienced  any  of  those  ailments 
which  had  brought  her  down  so  low  during  the  winter 
of  1838-9. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

ODESSA  AGAIN— A   MISSIONARY  TOUR— PRINTING 
BEGUN. 

OUR  reception  at  Odessa  was  of  the  most  affec- 
tionate kind.  We  lodged  this  time  at  the  Flet- 
nitzers',  in  the  Lutheran  parsonage.  Our  old  friends 
flocked  together,  and  some  new  ones  joined  them.  I 
was  overwhelmed  with  company  daily,  both  Odessa 
friends  and  those  from  the  surrounding  villages.  In 
order  to  give  a  better  opportunity  for  people  to  see  me, 
my  sister  gave  me  a  room  down-stairs ;  and  there  I 
even  took  my  breakfast,  uniformly  surrounded  by 
Christian  friends.  These  were  exceedingly  comfort- 
able and  profitable  seasons. 

We  spent  a  little  more  than  a  month  at  Odessa, 
during  which  time  preparations  were  made  for  our  land 
journey. 

During  this  time  I  had  meetings  as  usual,  in  crowded 
rooms,  in  the  neighborhood.  Believers  were  refreshed, 
and  perhaps  some  newcomers  were  attracted,  but  I  can 
report  no  conversions. 

At  this  time  I  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Melville, 
who  was  laboring  as  a  Bible  agent  without  salary, 
earning  his  livelihood  by  giving  lessons  in  the  English 
language.     We  immediately  became  warm  friends. 

Before  leaving  South  Russia,  Mr.  Melville  and  my- 
(138) 


A  Missionary  Tour.  139 

self  planned  a  missionary  tour  through  the  German 
villages  on  either  side  of  the  Dniester. 

As  I  could  not  possibly  keep  a  journal,  I  do  not 
remember  all  the  villages  that  we  visited  on  this  tour, 
which  occupied  a  week  or  ten  days.  It  must  have 
been  a  dozen  or  more.  In  Gliicksthal  we  spent  the 
Sabbath,  and  there  the  minister  invited  me  to  preach. 
A  revival  had  lately  visited  the  place,  and  the  sweet- 
smelling  savor  was  still  perceptible.  On  this  whole 
tour,  Mr.  Melville  was  busy  in  disposing  of  the  Scrip- 
tures to  the  German  farmers,  and  in  holding  meetings 
regularly  in  the  evening,  and  often  in  the  morning, 
before  leaving  a  place  ;  for  the  people  would  not  let  us 
go  without  a  morning  meeting  also. 

Once,  in  Bessarabia,  we  approached  a  village  just 
before  noon,  on  a  scorching  hot  day.  The  people  in 
the  fields,  seeing  our  carriage  coming,  and  having  re- 
ceived notice  that  we  would  take  them  on  our  way, 
immediately  left  their  work  and  ran  together,  expecting 
a  word  of  edification  on  the  spot. 

In  no  house  of  the  village  was  there  room  for  the 
expected  meeting,  so  we  had  to  stop  in  the  open  air, 
under  a  burning  sun.  After  meeting  and  a  little  rest, 
we  passed  on.  These  are  some  of  the  people  (or  their 
descendants)  who  were  reclaimed  from  drunkenness, 
idleness,  and  poverty,  by  the  powerful  preaching  of  Mr. 
Lindl,  in  1821. 

At  the  last  German  village  that  we  visited,  where  we 
parted  with  all  our  friends  save  Mr.  Melville,  the  scene 
was  extremely  touching.  Not  only  were  all  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  village  eager  for  their  evening  meeting, 


140  Autobiography. 

but  many  men  and  women,  with  little  children  on  their 
backs,  had  come  several  hours'  distance  on  foot,  to 
enjoy  the  season.  The  evening  meeting  being  over, 
we  went  into  the  school-house,  and  there  even  old  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  De  Heinleth  had  to  take  up  for  their  night's 
accommodation  with  the  hard,  narrow  school  benches. 
To  us  they  gave  the  best,  a  very  small  room  by  our- 
selves, too  narrow  to  contain  air  enough  for  us  to 
breathe. 

At  first,  despairing  of  any  rest,  I  came  out,  and  found 
quite  a  number  of  people  sitting  around  in  the  beau- 
tiful moonlight.  Some  lay  in  carriages,  some,  I  sup- 
pose, in  sundry  humble  corners  of  stables  and  barns. 
A  woman  (among  others)  sat  upon  our  threshold,  with 
a  babe  in  her  lap.  "And  where  are  you  going  to 
sleep?"  said  I.  ^^  Sleep  ! ''  she  replied,  "  to-night  no 
sleep  will  come  to  my  eyes,  I  am  sure."  *'  You  are  not 
at  home  here,"  I  conjectured.  "  Oh,  no,  I  am  two 
hours  from  home,  and  came  running  here  after  our 
field-work  was  done,  carrying  my  babe."  "  Why  don't 
you  go  home  now  in  the  moonlight  of  this  beautiful 
night,  and  get  a  little  rest?"  "Why,  you  will  cer- 
tainly have  prayers  in  the  morning,  before  you  leave, 
will  you  not  ?  "  "  Yes,  I  suppose  so,"  I  said.  "  Well, 
I  am  not  going  to  lose  that.  I  must  be  there,  anyhow,'* 
she  said. 

I  suppose  she  kept  awake  through  the  night,  after  a 
hard  day's  work,  and  a  two  hours'  journey  on  foot, 
with  her  babe  to  carry.  And  will  not  such  people  enter 
heaven,  while  many  privileged  persons  in  America,  who 
have  the  Gospel  to  satiety,  who  find  every  meeting  too 


A  Missionary  Tour.  141 

long,  every  sermon  too  tedious,  every  church  too  far, 
every  kind  of  weather  too  doubtful  to  avail  themselves 
of  Gospel  blessings,  are  shut  out  ? 

The  next  morning  we  did  indeed  have  morning 
prayers  in  the  meeting-house,  and  the  house  was  full. 
But  I  was  so  utterly  exhausted  that  I  begged  the  pastor 
to  take  charge  of  them.  Then  we  set  out,  and  notwith- 
standing the  heat  and  the  dust,  the  people  would  accom- 
pany us,  singing,  through  the  long  village.  At  the  end 
of  the  street,  I  thought,  they  will  surely  stop,  and  we 
shall  say  adieu ;  but  not  they ;  they  seemed  to  go  on  indef- 
initely. At  last  I  stopped,  for  I  was  walking  with  them, 
and  said,  '^  Dear  friends,  we  must  part  some  time,  and  I 
think  we  had  better  say  good-bye  now."  So  the  hand- 
shaking of  the  villagers  and  the  embraces  of  our  nearest 
friends  began,  and  when  this  most  affectionate  and 
touching  farewell  was  at  last  accomplished,  I  stepped 
into  the  carriage,  spent  to  the  last,  and  put  mother  and 
little  Henry  into  Mr.  Melville's  hands,  for  I  did  not 
feel  as  though  I  could  say  another  word  or  answer 
another  question. 

Our  journey  from  South  Russia  to  Vienna  was  made 
in  hired  carriages,  by  the  stage-route.  This  was  a 
more  comfortable  way  of  traveling,  especially  with  a 
child,  than  taking  the  mail-stage,  and  was  but  little 
more  expensive,  though  somewhat  slower.  The  narra- 
tive of  this  uneventful  ride,  through  a  country  for  the 
most  part  poverty-stricken,  and  utterly  devoid  of  ac- 
commodation for  travelers,  would  not  be  interesting. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that  at  the  end  of  several  weeks  of 
slow  and    most   uncomfortable   journeying,  we   drove 


142  Autobiography. 

into  the  streets  of  Vienna,  dust-covered  and  dilapi- 
dated in  appearance,  as  though  we  had  indeed  come 
from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

After  establishing  ourselves  at  a  hotel,  I  sallied  forth 
in  search  of  some  Christian  brethren  whom  I  had  met 
here  in  1832,  and  who  were  then  obliged  to  hold 
their  prayer-meetings  in  secret,  to  avoid  being  arrested 
by  the  Austrian  (Roman  Catholic)  police.  I  found  one 
of  these,  a  Mr.  Swoboda,  and  learned  from  him  that 
there  were  still  a  few  souls  in  Vienna  who  sought  salva- 
tion by  faith  in  Christ.  A  lay-missionary  from  Switzer- 
land had  been  in  Vienna  for  some  time,  working  as  a 
journeyman  shawl-weaver,  and  doing  what  he  could  for 
these  people. 

Before  we  left  the  hotel,  the  lay-missionary  and 
several  others,  male  and  female,  came  to  see  us,  and 
seemed  greatly  to  rejoice  at  our  arrival.  I  was  obliged 
to  inform  them  that  as  I  had  a  work  to  print,  which 
could  not  be  done  under  two  years,  I  was  afraid  of  risk- 
ing the  interests  of  the  work  at  Vienna.  If  I  remained 
there,  and  held  religious  meetings,  as  I  certainly  should 
wish  to  do,  the  police  would  likely  ere  long  interfere, 
and  eventually  expel  me.  On  this  account  I  should 
try  to  make  arrangements  for  printing  at  Leipsic.  At 
this  they  were  sincerely  sorry. 

Family  circumstances,  nevertheless,  forced  us  to  a 
temporary  sojourn  in  Vienna.  Accordingly,  we  rented 
apartments  in  one  of  the  pleasantest  suburbs,  bought 
or  hired  the  most  necessary  articles  of  furniture,  and 
settled  down.  On  the  nth  of  September,  1839,  our 
fourth  son  was  born,  and  was  named  Edward  William. 


Printing  Begun.  143 

I  baptized  him  myself,  in  private,  on  the  23d  of  Octo- 
ber, for  I  wanted  no  infidel  or  rationalistic  hands  laid 
on  him. 

Leaving  our  quarters  in  the  Leopoldstadt,  we  moved 
into  a  humble  dwelling,  nearer  to  our  good  people,  in 
the  suburb  called  Gumpendorf,  the  former  residence  of 
the  great  musical  composer,  Haydn.  Meantime,  I  had 
held  meetings  at  our  house  boldly,  not  only  in  the 
quiet  evening  hours,  but  on  Sunday  afternoons,  with 
our  windows  open,  and  we  sang  without  suppressing  our 
voices,  while  people  went  over  in  crowds  to  the  "  Pra- 
ter," to  their  amusements.  As  the  secret  police  knew  all 
that  a  man  did,  what  he  ate  or  drank,  where  he  went, 
and  with  whom  he  had  intercourse,  I  was  sure  that  our 
meetings  were  no  secret  at  the  office  of  the  Paternal 
Austrian  Government.  But  no  objection  was  made, 
and  on  removing  to  Gumpendorf,  we  moved  blind- 
fold into  the  house  of  an  agent  of  the  secret  police, 
(so  people  took  him  to  be,)  and  all  the  people  who 
visited  us,  or  came  to  our  meetings,  had  to  pass  close 
by  his  very  windows.  This  circumstance  afterwards 
proved  a  protection  to  us,  though  we  did  not  know  that 
we  had  moved  into  the  lion's  den. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

RESIDENCE  IN   GUMPENDORF — NEW   CONVERTS. 

DURING  our  residence  in  Gumpendorf,  little  Henry- 
was  seized  with  an  obstinate  intermittent  fever. 
The  ground  of  Gumpendorf  is  low,  a  little  river  creeps 
through  it,  and  there  are  not  a  few  gardens  there,  where 
vegetable  decomposition  cannot  be  altogether  prevent- 
ed. Our  own  landlord,  Mr.  Rupprecht,  had  a  large 
garden  attached  to  his  house,  and  carried  on  a  consid- 
erable business  in  floriculture,  cultivating  also  the 
greatest  variety  of  grape-vines  and  of  potatoes  that  I 
ever  heard  of.  Once  in  a  while  the  Emperor  came 
to  see  this  garden,  and  then,  when  the  Gumpendorf 
children  would  crowd  around  the  feeble  little  man,  to 
kiss  his  hands,  and  the  attendants  endeavored  to  keep 
them  away,  the  Emperor  would  say  :  "  'S  thut  7iix  ;  's 
thut  7iix  ;  lasst  s  halt  machen  ;  lasst  s  halt  machen.'' 

Mr.  Rupprecht  boasted  of  being  the  man  who  had  in- 
troduced English  literature  into  Austria,  by  translating 
several  important  works  from  English  into  German. 
He  spoke  English  tolerably  well  for  a  man  who  had 
never  been  among  English-speaking  people,  and  was 
very  fond  of  the  language.  He  especially  admired  some 
of  our  American  papers,  which  we  accidentally  had  with 
us  as  wrapping-paper.  He  borrowed  and  read  them 
through,  and  expressed  his  admiration  of  their  highly 
(144) 


Residence  in  Gumpendorf.  145 

practical  value.  "  They  contain  everything,"  he  said, — 
"  politics,  morals,  religion,  arts,  agriculture,  poetry, 
stories,  and  advertisements.  They  are  just  the  thing  to 
realize  a  popular  education,  and  to  keep  a  nation  posted 
on  what  all  reasonable  people  ought  to  know."  He  was 
anxious  to  make  us  believe  that  Austria  was  not  as 
intolerant  and  despotic  as  she  was  represented.  We 
were  informed  that  Mr.  Rupprecht  was  an  officer  of  the 
secret  police,  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it.  But  this 
was  an  advantage  to  us  ;  our  meetings  being  now  in  part 
in  his  house,  he  could  make  a  full  report ;  and  he  once 
gave  us  to  understand,  that  the  police  had  made  some 
inquiries  about  these  meetings,  but  that  he  had  informed 
them  that  they  were  entirely  quiet  and  unobjectionable 
gatherings  for  private  edification,  which  quieted  our 
adversaries  for  the  time  being.  Even  afterwards,  when 
we  had  left  his  house,  and  lived  in  another  suburb,  he 
remained  our  faithful  friend.  At  a  later  period,  when 
the  police  again  became  suspicious  about  our  meetings, 
he  sent  us  word,  privately,  to  be  ready  for  an  investiga- 
tion, and  then  again,  a  few  days  after,  he  let  us  know, 
in  the  same  way,  that  inquiries  had  been  made  of  him, 
and  that  he  had  pacified  their  fears. 

Before  we  left  Gumpendorf  we  had  the  opportunity 
of  being  present  on  a  very  pleasant  semi-ecclesiastical 
occasion — a  kind  of  Haydn  festival.  Joseph  Haydn, 
the  composer,  used  to  live  in  a  small  house  in  Gumpen- 
dorf;  his  immortal  music  was  composed  in  a  little,  low 
garret  room.  That  little  house  was  going  to  be  sold, 
and  would  probably  have  been  changed,  perhaps  pulled 
down,  by  the  new  owner,  to  make  room  for  a  better, 
7 


146  Autobiography. 

more  reputable  building.  To  prevent  this,  the  Haydn 
Musical  Society  of  Vienna  acquired  the  property,  and 
put  the  house  in  order,  without  making  any  changes  in 
the  interior.  To  inaugurate  the  event  they  arranged 
a  festival,  to  which  we,  among  others,  were  invited. 
First  we  went  to  the  little  Catholic  church,  where  a 
catafalque  was  erected,  as  though  the  funeral  ceremonies 
of  Haydn  were  to  be  repeated.  An  ecclesiastical 
ceremony  was  performed,  perhaps  a  mass  read  for  his 
departed  soul,  and  then  the  whole  assembly  went  in 
procession  to  Haydn's  house,  where  we  could  inspect 
the  earthly  habitation  of  that  great  and  good  man. 
The  house  being  small,  the  society  had  arranged  a 
programme  exclusively  of  Haydn's  compositions  to  be 
performed  in  the  garden.  All  went  off  very  pleasantly. 
I  felt  solemn  when  I  entered  Haydn's  own  private 
room,  saw  his  old  piano,  his  chair,  table,  and  other 
small  articles  of  furniture,  his  cocked-hat  and  the  sword 
which  he  wore  on  state  occasions,  etc.  I  was  especially 
interested  in  being  in  that  room  where  Haydn,  while 
composing  his  great  works,  such  as  "  The  Seven  Last 
Words  of  Christ,"  *'  Creation,"  etc.,  used  to  kneel  down 
several  times  a  day  (as  he  himself  stated),  to  pray  for 
divine  assistance.  It  was  like  a  church  to  me,  that 
small  room,  and  surely,  if  there  be  any  music  of 
earthly  framing,  where  divine  assistance  appears  per- 
ceptible to  the  sensible  ear,  it  is  the  solemn  quartette 
on  "The  Seven  Last  Words  of  Christ." 

As  soon  as  the  spring  opened,  we  took  a  country 
dwelling  in  a  village  near  the  Kahlenberg  mountains, 
called  Grinzing.     The  house  was  close  to  the  CathoHc 


New  Converts.  147 

church,  and  the  bakery  of  the  village  was  connected 
with  our  premises,  the  baker  being  our  landlord. 
Thither  we  moved,  chiefly  for  Henry's  sake,  and  the 
country  air  was  so  much  blessed  to  him,  that  he  at  once 
. recovered. 

The  religious  awakening  of  the  previous  winter  was 
kept  alive  by  the  visits  which  the  brethren  and  sisters 
paid  us  regularly  every  Sabbath  afternoon.  That  they 
could  find  no  spiritual  nourishment  in  the  two  Ration- 
alistic Protestant  churches,  i.  e.  the  Lutheran  and  the 
Reformed,  and  none  in  the  Catholic  churches,  was 
plain.  At  that  time,  one  of  the  court  preachers  was 
said  to  be  preaching  over  again  the  sermons  (already 
in  print)  of  Draseke,  a  Protestant  minister,  and  the 
court  chapel  was  filled  with  hearers  every  Sunday. 

The  sermons,  which  I  had  seen  long  before,  were 
more  sentimental  than  Christian,  fine  specimens  of 
style  and  genius,  but  not  calculated  either  to  edify 
Christians,  or  to  awaken  a  slumbering  conscience. 

While  we  were  still  living  at  Gumpendorf,  we  once 
spent  an  evening  at  our  landlord's,  and  there  met  a 
Catholic  priest  of  superior  standing,  a  man  who  had 
the  care  of  40,000  souls,  but  who  was  notoriously  guilty 
of  vicious  practices.  I  asked  him,  "  Is  it  true  that  Mr. 
S.  is  preaching  the  sermons  of  Draseke  over  again  to 
your  Court  ?  "  "I  do  not  know,"  he  replied  ;  "  but 
what  if  he  does?  He  would  be  a  fool  if  he  troubled 
himself  to  compose  sermons  for  them  ;  they  pay  him  a 
wretched  six  hundred  florins,  and  for  that  paltry  sum 
he  is  to  play  the  harlequin  for  them  50  or  60  times  a 
year!     What  can  they  expect  for  that  trifle?"     This 


148  AUTOBIOGRArHY. 

is  the  estimate  he  set  upon  preaching  the  Gospel,  and 
he  was  evidently  under  the  impression  that  I  agreed 
with  him. 

It  was  obvious  that  such  men  could  not  feed  souls 
hungering  for  sound  Gospel  food.  We  were  truly  on 
missionary  ground,  and  no  wonder  that  the  few  souls 
who  knew,  or  sought  the  truth,  would  come  out  on  hot 
Sunday  afternoons  to  sing  and  pray  together. 

In  the  fall  we  returned  to  the  city,  and  took  apart- 
ments in  the  Josephstadt  suburb.  Our  meetings  on 
Sunday  and  Thursday  evenings  resumed  their  regular 
course,  being  held  by  turns  in  divers  places.  We  had 
abundant  reason  to  be  grateful  for  the  divine  blessing 
upon  our  country  residence. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

ANOTHER    CONVERT— MARIA    DOROTHEA— GOING     TO 
STUTTGART. 

INTO  this  winter  season  falls  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able conversions  we  were  permitted  to  witness.  The 
wife  of  the  only  wealthy  man  of  our  Vienna  circle,  Mr. 
Koeppen,  was  a  Roman  Catholic.  He  owned  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  land,  the  dwellings  on  which  he 
rented.  In  one  of  these,  a  humble  one,  in  the  court 
behind  his  house,  lived  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Schuster,  who 
belonged  to  our  circle,  and  in  whose  house,  among 
others,  we  held  our  meetings.  Mr.  Koeppen  was  one 
of  the  first  who  came  to  see  us  after  our  arrival.  I 
think  he  was  then  a  converted  man,  but  so  much  of  a 
babe  in  Christ,  that  every  time  he  visited  us,  and  his 
visits  were  almost  daily,  he  brought  a  paper  in  his  pocket 
containing  some  passages  or  Scripture  questions,  upon 
which  he  wanted  light.  He  was  rapidly  growing,  not 
only  in  knowledge,  but  in  grace,  for  what  he  learned 
was  almost  all  practical,  and  was  immediately  put  to 
good  use.  Mrs.  Koeppen  was  far  enough  from  sym- 
pathizing with  her  husband.  She  was  religiously  igno- 
rant, and  a  very  proud  and  decided  woman.  Her  hus- 
band had  begun  to  attend  religious  meetings,  where  a 
set  of  poor  contemptible  people  assembled,  and  she  was 
exceedingly  annoyed  that  he  should  so  degrade  himself. 

(149) 


150  Autobiography. 

She  threatened  that  if  she  saw  him  come  home  again 
from  that  meeting  in  company  with  such  common  peo- 
ple, she  would  leap  out  of  the  window,  falling  before  his 
feet,  and  thus  end  her  days,  rather  than  bear  such  a  dis- 
grace any  longer.  Mr.  Koeppen,  aware  of  the  desperate 
character  of  his  wife,  and  fearing  the  execution  of  her 
threat,  thenceforth  returned  home  alone. 

But  Mrs.  Koeppen  was  not  a  person  without  religion 
in  her  Catholic  way,  nor  without  thought.  She  began, 
therefore,  to  look  into  some  of  the  religious  books  which 
her  husband,  with  his  new  views  and  feelings,  seemed  to 
value  so  highly.  She  took  up  Arndt's  "  Wahres  Chris- 
tenthuin!'  and  the  like,  and  her  mind  began  to  realize 
the  true  character  of  religion.  Seeing  this,  Mr.  Koeppen 
begged  me  to  call  at  their  house,  and  when  I  did  so, 
Mrs.  Koeppen  seemed  to  be  much  pleased,  and  before  I 
left,  he  brought  out  the  Bible,  and  we  read  and  conversed 
together,  and  I  prayed.  But  I  did  not  think  it  best  to 
repeat  this  sort  of  call.  Mrs.  Koeppen's  was  manifestly  a 
proud,  unbroken  spirit ;  and  it  would  only  have  flattered 
her  pride,  had  the  Gospel  offers  been  brought  to  her  on 
a  silver  salver,  and  possibly  she  might  have  thought 
that  my  business  was,  to  slip  into  private  houses  to 
proselyte  the  Catholic  wives  of  Protestant  husbands. 
Therefore,  I  told  Mr.  Koeppen  that  I  should  not  repeat 
the  visit,  but  leave  her  to  come  to  the  despised  meet- 
ings, like  other  poor  sinners,  if  she  wanted  to  be  saved. 

This  proved  to  be  the  right  course,  for  just  at  that 
time,  or  soon  after  my  visit,  a  violent  scene  took  place 
between  these  two  people — violent,  however,  only  on 
her  part.     In  a  paroxysm  of  passion,  she  declared  that 


Another  Convert.  151 

she  would  submit  no  longer  to  the  degradation  of  her 
husband's  keeping  company  with  such  poor,  miserable 
people,  and  that,  if  he  did  not  break  off  his  connection 
with  them,  she  would  leave  him.  Mr.  Koeppen  had 
grace  and  wisdom  given  him,  to  say  the  right  thing,  and 
to  say  it  in  the  right  spirit.  Calmly,  but  firmly,  he  said 
to  her :  ''  The  door  is  open,  and  you  can  go  whenever 
you  please.  I  have  thus  far  borne  with  your  passionate 
and  violent  opposition  to  the  truth,  and  have  yielded 
to  it  my  right  of  associating  with  pious  people,  as  far 
as  I  could.  I  have  done  so  because  you  were  born  in 
ignorance  of  the  Gospel,  and  know  nothing  about  it  ; 
but  now  you  have  read  *  Arndt,'  and  the  Bible,  and 
other  good  books,  and  you  know  enough  of  the  truth 
to  make  your  choice.  If  you  still  continue  to  oppose 
the  truth,  and  insist  on  either  keeping  me  from  it  or 
leaving  me,  you  may  go  to-day.  I  shall  never  change, 
never  return  to  the  world.  But,  remember,  that  in 
going  you  will  only  ruin  yourself,  soul  and  body  ;  you 
will  soon  enough  bitterly  repent  of  the  rash,  wrong 
step,  but  your  proud  heart  will  forbid  your  return." 

She  broke  down  and  wept  bitterly.  He  had  always 
been  a  kind  and  considerate  husband,  and  she  could 
not  leave  him.  Her  conscience,  too,  testified  that  he 
was  right.  She  had  read  too  much,  and  knew  too 
much,  to  deny  that  he  was  in  the  Gospel  way.  He  said 
nothing  more,  treated  her  with  his  usual  kindness,  and 
let  the  leaven  work.  The  result  was  the  happiest 
possible. 

One  evening  I  was  to  hold  a  meeting  in  the  narrow 
quarters  of  that  poor  family  living  behind  Mrs.  Koep- 


152  Autobiography. 

pen's  premises.  The  meeting  was  just  about  to  begin, 
and  the  room  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity, 
when  lo !  Mrs.  Koeppen  and  their  adopted  daughter 
came  in  very  modestly.  Mrs.  Schuster  at  once  arose  to 
give  her  her  chair,  and  there  was,  for  a  little  while,  a 
polite  conflict  between  the  two ;  but  Mrs.  Koeppen  in- 
sisted on  sitting  upon  a  stool.  The  manner  in  which 
she  acted  was  admirable,  modest,  unconsciously  so  ;  she 
insisted  on  the  humble  place,  apparently  grateful  to 
occupy  even  that. 

That  evening  decided  her  future.  From  that  time  the 
Koeppens  were  a  happy  couple.  Her  conversion  was 
wonderful  in  the  marvelous  change  of  her  whole 
nature.  She  felt  as  though  she  had  become  rich  ;  she 
was  modest,  cheerful,  affectionate ;  and  the  proud,  rich 
Vienna  houseowner  was  the  loving,  confiding  sister  of 
those  pious  females  in  our  circle,  with  whom,  a  short 
time  before,  she  would  have  disdained  to  associate. 

In  the  spring  of  1841,  it  became  evident  that  my 
printing  would  have  to  be  suspended  for  a  while,  as,  by 
some  misunderstanding,  I  was  not  provided  with  the 
funds  requisite  for  its  continuance,  and  could  not  be 
thus  provided  under  a  couple  of  months.  As  I  was 
also  somewhat  run  down  in  health  and  needed  a  change, 
we  concluded  to  make  a  visit  to  my  friends  in  Wurtem- 
berg.  One  more  incident,  however,  must  be  related, 
before  entering  upon  the  account  of  this  journey. 

The  Wiirtembergian  Princess,  Maria  Dorothea,  was 
married  to  the  Archduke  Joseph,  Viceroy  of  Hungary. 
She  was  not  only  a  Protestant,  but  a  decidedly  pious 
lady.     The  Archduke,  a  straightforward,  fair-minded 


Maria  Dorothea.  153 

man,  had  chosen  her,  he  said,  to  be  a  mother  to  the 
Hungarian  Protestants,  though  she  was,  at  that  time, 
but  poorly  prepared  to  be  a  spiritual  mother  to  any 
people.  "  I  was  a  careless  young  creature,"  she  after- 
wards said  to  me,  *'  and  thought  it  a  grand  thing  to 
become  an  '  Imperial  Highness.'  "  Her  mother  was 
the  Duchess  of  Wiirtemberg,  and  her  sister  the  Queen 
of  that  little  kingdom.  She  often  paid  visits  to  Vienna, 
and  on  such  occasions  usually  stayed  at  Schonbrunn, 
that  beautiful  country  palace  of  the  Emperor's,  which 
became  the  temporary  residence  of  Napoleon  I.  in  1809, 
after  the  battles  of  Aspern  and  Wagram. 

My  old  friend,  Mr.  Swoboda,  whose  acquaintance  I 
made  in  1832,  had  been  well  acquainted  with  the  Arch- 
duchess. 

He  esteemed  her  highly,  and  encouraged  me  to  go 
to  see  her.  I  was,  of  course,  unacquainted  with  the 
ways  of  the  court,  and  did  not  know  to  what  degree  the 
members  of  the  Imperial  family  were  accessible  to 
common  people.  Mr.  Swoboda  told  me,  that  they  were 
very  plain,  and  easily  accessible ;  that  they  were  all 
early  risers ;  and  that,  if  I  wanted  to  make  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  Archduchess,  I  needed  only  to  present 
myself,  mention  my  name  and  office,  and  ask  for  the 
privilege  of  an  interview.  It  would  be  well  for  me  to 
be  at  the  palace  by  9  o'clock  in  the  morning,  he  said. 
He  gave  me  no  line  of  introduction. 

Accordingly,  I  drove  out  to  Schonbrunn  one  beauti- 
ful morning ;  after  wandering  about  the  vast  corridors 
of  the  palace  for  a  while,  finding  no  one,  I  encountered 
a  palace  servant,  who,  when  I  asked  for  the  apartments 

7* 


154  Autobiography. 

of  her  Imperial  Highness,  pointed  me  to  a  certain 
door.  If  I  remember  right,  there  was  a  bell  handle 
at  the  door,  and  on  my  ringing,  a  young  woman  ap- 
peared, and  asked  me  very  politely  who  I  was,  and 
what  I  wanted.  I  told  her  I  was  a  Wurtembergian  by 
birth,  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  and  an  American  mis- 
sionary, and  I  had  come  to  ask  for  the  privilege  of 
an  interview  with  her  Imperial  Highness,  if  quite  agree- 
able to  her.  She  begged  me  to  wait,  and  went  in. 
Coming  back,  she  asked  me  whether  I  had  any  business 
to  bring  before  her  Highness,  to  which  I  replied,  "  No," 
adding  that  a  brief  interview  was  all  that  I  desired. 
Returning,  she  asked  me  in. 

The  Archduchess,  a  plain,  intelligent-looking  per- 
son, sat  on  her  sofa,  in  a  simple  morning-dress.  I  made 
my  three  court  bows,  and  stated  to  her,  once  more, 
my  native  place  and  my  calling,  upon  which  she  bade 
me  welcome,  and  asked  me  to  sit  down.  I  think  I  told 
her  that  Mr.  Swoboda  had  encouraged  me  to  venture 
upon  a  call,  and  she  immediately  inquired  how  he  was. 
She  then  asked  whether  the  circle  of  pious  people  still 
existed,  who  had  been  in  the  habit  of  meeting  together 
for  mutual  edification  and  prayer,  and  whether  they 
were  prospering.  I  told  her,  that  since  our  arrival  at 
Vienna,  I  had  assumed  the  responsibility  of  those  meet- 
ings, at  the  request  of  the  little  flock ;  that  the  number 
of  attendants  and  the  places  of  the  meetings  had  in- 
creased, and  that  several  hopeful  conversions  had,  thus 
far,  taken  place.  As  she  listened,  there  was  no  doubt 
left  in  my  mind  that  she  was  a  truly  converted  person, 
fully  appreciating  the  difference   between   conversion 


Going  to  Stuttgart.  155 

and  unconversion.  She  was  profoundly  interested  in 
my  soberly-related  stories,  and  perfectly  delighted  that 
the  good  cause  was  thus  prospering,  though  in  secret 
and  on  a  small  scale.  Fearing  to  be  tedious  to  her,  I 
rose  several  times,  about  to  withdraw,  but  she  kept  me 
till  my  stock  of  news  began  to  run  pretty  low.  I  was, 
perhaps,  an  hour  and  a  half,  telling  my  stories  and 
answering  her  questions.  At  last  she  permitted  me  to 
retire.  She  accompanied  me  to  the  door,  shook  hands 
with  me,  thanked  me  for  my  visit,  and  made  me  promise 
to  make  her  a  visit  at  Ofen,  in  her  royal  palace,  and  to 
bring  mother  with  me. 

Thus  my  visit  to  this  excellent  lady  came  to  a  close, 
and  I  was  very  much  pleased  with  the  result  of  my  bold 
intrusion  on  so  high  a  personage. 

We  started  for  Wurtemberg  in  a  "  Landkutsche,''  a 
private  hired  carriage.  From  Linz  we  went  by  the 
usual  slow  stages  of  this  mode  of  travel,  towards  Munich, 
where  we  spent  three  days  most  delightfully  and  use- 
fully. 

During  these  three  days  we  saw  all  that  was  interest- 
ing at  Munich,  which  was  not  a  little  ;  and  then  went 
on  our  way  to  Augsburg.  Our  first  night  in  Wiirtem- 
berg  was  at  Ulm,  in  the  Hotel  of  the  Black  Ox.  Here, 
for  the  first  time,  mother  found  everything  clean,  and 
the  bed-clothes  dry.  In  all  the  hotels  throughout  Aus- 
tria and  Bavaria,  she  had  to  dry  our  bed-clothes  pre- 
vious to  our  retiring.  There  was  generally  a  show  ot 
fashion  and  elegance  in  the  furnishing  of  the  rooms, 
but  no  comfort  or  tidiness.  Here,  in  the  first  Prot- 
estant hotel,  in  plain  Swabia,  she  found  all  things  as 


156  Autobiography. 

she  wanted  them,  though  the  articles  were  all  of  the 
most  unpretending  plainness. 

The  next  morning  we  started  for  Stuttgart,  arriving 
there  about  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  being  hospitably- 
received  by  the  household  of  Mr.  Roser,  whose  wife 
was  my  cousin. 


T 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

FAREWELLS— RETURN   TO  VIENNA. 

HE  time  soon  came  when  we  had  to  leave  Stutt- 
gart, as  my  work  called  for  my  return.  I  had 
reason  to  suppose  that  by  the  time  we  got  back  to 
Vienna,  my  money  affairs  with  the  American  Bible 
Society  would  be  arranged,  and,  at  any  rate,  I  had 
stopped  the  work  now  for  more  than  nine  weeks,  and 
I  felt  anxious  to  get  back.  Aside  from  this,  I  was  well- 
nigh  worn  out  with  the  unceasing'labors  which  the  re- 
ligious interest  of  the  season  imposed  upon  me. 

When  I  thought  I  had  held  my  last  meeting,  I  was 
mistaken.  That  last  meeting,  in  which  I  took  leave  of 
the  Stuttgart  people,  was  a  sufficiently  large  one. 
For  want  of  room  in  any  house  available  to  us,  it 
was  held  in  the  yard  of  a  former  hotel,  called  the  Ro- 
man Emperor.  The  Christian  people  had  bought  it, 
and  used  it  for  religious  meetings,  and  as  a  center 
of  action  for  religious  and  benevolent  societies.  It  was 
the  miniature  ''  Exeter  Hall  "  of  Stuttgart.  There  I 
spoke  from  a  platform,  to  a  large  audience,  gathered  in 
the  court,  and  filling  the  windows  of  the  second  story. 
But  being  asked  whether  I  would  not  hold  one  meet- 
ing more  at  Mr.  Reihlen's  house,  I  consented,  and, 
again,  four  or  five  rooms,  entry,  and  staircase  were 
filled.     Worn  out  as  I  was,  and  having  already  taken 

(157) 


158  Autobiography. 

my  public  leave,  I  should  not  have  consented  to  ad- 
dress a  crowded  meeting,  but  ^or  one  circumstance. 
There  was  a  question  upon  w^hich  the  Moravians,  the 
Pietists,  and  the  Baptists  had  much  friendly  discussion, 
though  each  considered  the  other  not  quite  Scrip- 
tural. It  was  the  subject  of  sanctification.  The 
Moravian-inclined  brethren,  fearing  to  mix  faith  in 
Christ's  finished  righteousness  with  personal  attain- 
ments, kept  close  to  the  righteousness  by  faith,  and  in 
this  the  Baptists  rather  sympathized  with  them.  The 
Pietists,  fearing  too  easy  and  lazy  reliance  on  Christ, 
were  sternly  attentive  to  personal  growth  and  the  per- 
formance of  duty.  Of  course,  both  parties  were  right, 
and  both  had  their  peculiar  temptations  to  contend 
against.  On  this  subject  I  had  not  yet  spoken,  and 
never  had  been  able  to  get  time  to  arrange  my  thoughts 
on  it,  but  the  moment  the  tutor  of  Mr.  Reihlen's  chil- 
dren mentioned  to  me  the  request  for  a  last  meeting  at 
the  house  of  the  latter,  the  text  (Heb.  xii.  14)  and  the 
whole  subject  so  flashed  upon  my  mind  that  I  consent- 
ed to  come,  and,  a  few  minutes  after,  went  over  and 
spoke  to  the  dense  audience,  and  so  much  to  the  satis- 
faction of  both  contending  parties,  that  I  was  afterwards 
requested  to  put  my  thoughts  in  writing  and  send  them 
a  copy. 

The  next  morning  we  set  out,  returning  by  way  of 
Heidenheim,  and  steered  again  for  the  Danube,  to  see 
the  Walhalla,  which  was  then  being  built. 

I  will  not  particularize  on  our  descent  along  the 
river,  but  we  stopped  at  Linz,  and  our  visit  there  was 
too  interesting  to  be  passed  over  in  silence.     We  ar- 


Return  to  Vienna. 


159 


rived  there  on  Saturday,  towards  evening,  too  late  to 
see  our  friends  in  the  country.  When  going  up  the 
river,  we  had  made  the  acquaintance  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Kotschy,  in  Efferding,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Koch,  in  Wallern. 
These  two  brethren  in  the  ministry  had  become  known 
to  us  as  true  Gospel  preachers. 

About  taking  a  carriage,  and  driving  out  to  Efferding 
to  see  the  Kotschys  on  Sunday,  I  felt  conscientious 
scruples.  In  fact,  being  much  worn  out,  I  felt  inclined 
to  give  them  the  slip,  and  pass,  on  quietly  to  Vienna  on 
Monday  morning ;  but  mother  overcame  my  scruples, 
thinking  it  to  be  due  to  the  Lord's  work  that  we  should 
see  those  good  people  again,  and  so  it  seemed  to  be. 
So  I  called  for  a  carriage,  and  we  drove  out  and  were 
received  with  the  utmost  fraternal  cordiality.  We  had 
a  meeting  that  very  evening  in  Mr.  Kotschy *s  house. 
We  had  meetings  everywhere. 

On  Friday  we  went  to  Linz,  Mr.  Kotschy  being  with 
us,  and  here  began  some  of  the  most  interesting  days 
that  we  had  in  that  part  of  Austria.  Linz  was  the  hot- 
bed of  "  Jesuitism  "  in  Austria,  having  a  great,  splendid 
monastic  establishment  on  the  hill  commanding  the 
city  and  the  Danube  valley.  The  Bishop,  or  Arch- 
bishop perhaps,  was  a  savage  enemy  of  the  truth,  and 
a  reckless  persecutor.  There  was  no  Gospel  preacher 
in  the  place,  though  there  were  Protestants  enough  to 
fill  a  church. 

In  the  neighborhood,  across  the  Danube,  several 
hours  distant,  was  Gallneu-KircJieiiy  that  famous  Catholic 
parish,  where  Boos  preached  the  Gospel,  and  where  he 
was   imprisoned    and  cruelly   persecuted,  till  he   left, 


i6o  Autobiography. 

being  expelled, — to  preach  and  to  finish  his  earthly 
labors  in  Prussia.  Those  of  his  parish  who  were  con- 
verted to  the  truth,  were  permitted  neither  to  leave  the 
country  nor  to  join  the  Protestant  church,  which  they 
had  a  legal,  acknowledged,  unquestionable  right  to  do. 
Though  the  Protestant  consistories  declared  to  the 
government  several  times  that  they  were  ready  to  re- 
ceive the  Boos  people,  as  their  religious  sentiments 
were  entirely  Protestant,  they  were  not  permitted  to 
accept  the  invitation.  The  law  of  the  land ;  the  fa- 
mous Toleration  Edict  of  Joseph  II.,  never  abrogated  ; 
justice,  humanity,  mercy,  even  honor  and  decency  ; — 
all  these  were  recklessly  trampled  in  the  dust  by  the 
priest-ridden  emperors  and  ministry :  and  those  poor 
people  were  kept  in  cruel  suspense,  unable  to  marry, 
with  no  one  to  baptize  their  children,  and  no  one  to 
bury  their  dead,  save  the  policeman,  who  generally  took 
his  dog  with  him,  to  express  his  contempt  for  the  occa- 
sion. These  people,  or  some  of  them,  I  was  to  meet 
at  night  in  a  farmhouse,  and  have  a  service  with  them 
and  other  good  people.  The  farm  was  in  a  very  unfre- 
quented place  on  the  other  side  of  the  Danube,  perhaps 
half  an  hour's  distance  by  carriage.  The  weather  was 
cloudy  and  rainy ;  mother  and  myself,  with  Mr. 
Kotschy,  drove  there,  and  found  a  number  of  people, 
not  very  many.  We  seemed  to  be  a  hunted  little  flock, 
indeed.  Eight  o'clock  came,  but  no  Gallneu-Kirchen 
people  were  there.  I  held  the  meeting,  finishing  some 
time  after  9  o'clock.  When  all  was  over,  lo  !  there 
came  the  Gallneu-Kirchen  guests.  Mr.  Kotschy  would 
have  liked  it  if  I  could  have  begun  another  meeting, 


Return  to  Vienna.  i6i 

but  I  was  too  much  exhausted  to  speak  again.  These 
good  people  had  toiled  over  the  ground  through  deep 
mud,  and  could  not  get  there  by  the  time  they  calcu- 
lated ;  they  were  sad — so  were  we.  The  next  morning 
we  were  to  leave  for  Vienna.  '^Well/'  they  said,  "you 
will  have  prayers  together  this  evening  before  retiring. 
May  we  not  enjoy  them  with  you  ? "  How  could  I 
refuse  ?  We  drove  back  to  the  hotel  through  the  mud, 
the  rain  pouring  down,  and  they  went  on  foot,  never 
thinking  of  complaint  or  hardship.  They  filled  our 
room,  and  we  talked  till  late,  and  had  prayers,  and  then 
I  was  going  to  take  leave  of  them.  But  Mr.  Kotschy 
interposed.  "  You  cannot  leave,"  he  said.  "  You  must 
stay  over  the  Sabbath,  and  give  them  an  opportunity 
to  enjoy  a  season  together  with  us."  I  pleaded  my 
business,  my  duties  at  Vienna,  but  Mr.  Kotschy  was 
very  importunate.  Mother  sided  with  him,  and  these 
good  people  made  so  strong  an  appeal  to  my  feelings  by 
their  very  looks,  that  at  last  I  answered  that  I  would 
leave  it  to  Providence  to  decide.  If  it  rained  in  the 
morning,  I  would  stay ;  but  if  the  weather  was  fair,  I  must 
not  be  detained  from  my  work  in  Vienna  any  longer. 
We  retired  very  late  in  the  evening,  having  everything 
ready  for  our  departure.  When  the  morning  came,  it 
rained, — it  poured.  Of  course,  I  was  bound  by  my  en- 
gagement to  stay.  But  the  steamer  had  not  gone 
far,  when  the  clouds  dispersed,  and  we  had  a  most 
splendid  day.     However,  my  conscience  was  clear. 

Our  Sabbath  was  carefully  improved.  Notwith- 
standing human  laws  and  priestly  power  and  tyranny, 
we  held  a  service.    Our  own  hotel  being  near  the  Danube, 


i62  Autobiography. 

noisy,  and  a  Catholic  one,  they  arranged  for  it  in  a  more 
retired  Protestant  hotel.  Had  the  Jesuit  Bishop  and 
the  police  known  of  our  gathering,  we  should  have 
been  interrupted  long  before  the  "Amen."  There  is 
nothing  so  savory  as  a  meeting  under  persecution,  and 
close  "  where  Satan  dwelleth."  When  our  service  was 
over,  I  returned  to  our  hotel,  and  as  many  of  the 
Gallneu-Kirchen  people  as  dared  followed  me.  The 
whole  day  was  diligently  improved,  and  the  whole  eveji- 
ing  we  were  surrounded  by  these  people,  who  never 
seemed  to  be  weary  of  Gospel  truth. 

Early  Monday  morning  we  started  to  return  to 
Vienna,  where  my  work  and  our  little  flock  were  wait- 
ing for  us. 

At  Vienna  we  were  received  by  our  friends  with 
the  utmost  affection.  Our  house  had  been  put  into  the 
nicest  order,  and  presents  of  various  kinds  prepared,  to 
express  the  joy  they  felt  in  seeing  us  back  again.  Our 
meeting  was  delightful.  My  printing  labors  were  now 
resumed,  and  so  were  our  meetings. 

We  had  not  been  long  in  Vienna,  when  we  moved  to 
Dobling  for  country  air.  Mr.  Simeon  Calhoun,  then  an 
agent  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  afterwards  better 
known  as  a  veteran  missionary  in  Syria,  spent  a  short 
season  with  us,  settling  everything  about  funds,  and 
passed  on  down  the  Danube.  From  Pesth  he  wrote  us 
that  he  was  having  a  very  pleasant  and  profitable  sea- 
son with  the  Scotch  missionaries  there,  viz.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Duncan,  and  the  two  young  unmarried  mission- 
aries, Messrs.  Allen  and  Smith.  He  reminded  us  of  the 
promise  we  had  made  them,  to  pay  them  a  visit  ere 


Return  to  Vienna.  163 

long,  (I  had  made  a  similar  promise  to  the  Archduchess 
Maria  Dorothea,  in  1840,)  and  urged  us  not  to  forget 
it,  as  he  considered  it  quite  important  that  we  should 
see  both  the  Archduchess  and  them.  Consequently, 
we  hired  a  cheap  carriage,  and  left,  on  the  19th  day  of 
October,  to  proceed  down  the  right  bank  of  the  Danube, 
following  the  imperial  road  from  Vienna  to  Pesth. 
There  I  hoped  to  see  more  of  the  country  of  the  noble 
Magyar  people,  and  we  saw  it  to  our  heart's  content. 
The  roads  were  terrible,  utterly  neglected,  sometimes 
dangerous  to  carriages,  from  the  continually  occurring 
deep  holes.  In  the  so-called  hotels  there  was  the  most 
wretched  effort  at  elegance,  combined  with  inconceiva- 
ble filth. 

When  we  arrived  at  Pesth,  we  put  up  at  the  hotel 
"  Queen  of  England,"  which  was  indeed  beautiful,  even 
elegant,  and  well  kept.  The  fact  is,  the  whole  of  Pesth 
and  Ofen  are  oases  in  Hungary  for  beauty,  cleanliness, 
and  refinement.  It  is  quite  a  surprise  to  the  land- 
traveler  to  find  himself,  all  at  once,  in  a  civilized  city; 
but  the  moment  he  leaves  the  place,  the  spell  is  broken, 
and,  suddenly  and  roughly  roused  from  a  pleasant 
dream,  he  finds  himself  plunged  into  filth  again.  Our 
meeting  with  our  friends,  the  missionaries,  was  in  the 
highest  degree  delightful,  and  the  few  days  we  spent 
there  belong  to  the  richest  days,  of  a  private  charac- 
ter, we  ever  spent.  The  pious  Archduchess  improved 
every  moment  we  spent  in  her  palace,  for  edification. 
She  was  as  hungry  for  religious  intercourse,  as  a  starved 
traveler  in  the  wilderness  for  a  piece  of  bread.  The 
Archduke  Joseph,  her  husband,  though  a  Catholic,  was 


164  Autobiography. 

especially  liberal  in  allowing  her  free  intercourse  with 
pious  people.  She  could,  of  course,  accept  no  call  from 
persons  not  already  introduced  into  the  palace,  without 
asking  his  consent.  But  he  said  to  her,  ^'  About  these 
pious  callers  of  yours,  you  need  not  ask  me ;  let  them 
come ;  they  will  do  no  one  any  harm." 

Our  journey  back  was  like  the  one  down,  and  we 
reached  Vienna  in  health  and  good  spirits,  very  grate- 
ful for  the  blessed  season  we  had  enjoyed. 

Our  last  winter  was  now  drawing  near.  Printing 
went  on  regularly,  and  I  began  to  see  the  end,  so  that 
I  could  calculate  to  return  to  Constantinople  early  in 
1842.  But  things  began  to  ripen.  I  do  not  remember 
exactly  when  it  was,  but  it  must  have  been  about  this 
time  that  our  pious  attendants  at  the  meetings,  both 
Catholic  and  Protestant,  requested  the  administration 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  to  them.  The  Protestants  urged 
the  fact,  that  both  the  Lutheran  and  Calvinistic  minis- 
ters in  Vienna  were  all  Rationalists,  and  that  they 
could  not  commune  in  those  churches  with  any  com- 
fort. The  Catholics  naturally  pleaded  that  they  could 
not  go  to  the  Catholic  priests  to  confession,  to  get  their 
sins  pardoned,  and  then  receive  a  consecrated  wafer  as 
a  full  communion.  Both  were  but  too  clearly  right.  I 
told  them  that  to  do  as  they  requested,  to  spread  a 
communion-table,  would  be  contrary  to  the  law  of 
Austria,  and  if  known,  would  probably  subject  me  to 
expulsion  from  the  land,  and  them  to  one  year's  con- 
finement in  the  penitentiary  ;  and  I  asked  them  whether 
they  were  ready  for  that.  They  replied  that  they  knew 
all  this,   and    they  were   ready  for  the  consequences. 


Return  to  Vienna.  165 

Thus  our  communion  seasons,  always  held  in  the  night 
at  our  house,  commenced. 

The  interest  of  our  meetings  was  kept  up  to  the 
full,  the  good  people's  hearts  being  greatly  strength- 
ened by  our  highly  refreshing  communion  seasons. 
Under  the  indistinct  impression  (which  I  did  all  in  my 
power  to  resist),  that  we  were  living  over  a  volcano,  I 
was  continually  led  to  speak  upon  subjects  which  were 
as  directly  in  point  as  any  the  Bible  contains — scenes 
and  events  of  persecution  and  of  peril.  I  spoke  of  the 
three  men  in  the  furnace,  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den,  and 
on  other  similar  topics,  and  they  doubtless  helped  to 
prepare  us  for  what  was  coming. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

PERSECUTION— THE     WORK     OF     TRANSLATION    COM- 
PLETED. 

THE  winter  passed  quietly,  while  transitions  from 
the  Catholic  Church  to  Protestantism  continued, 
and  our  danger  increased.  The  printing  work  was 
drawing  near  its  completion,  much  to  my  comfort,  for 
I  was  thus  getting  ready  to  meet  the  storm  without  in- 
jury to  my  work.     At  last  it  came. 

On  Sunday  evening,  the  24th  of  April,  the  people 
had  collected  at  our  house,  the  meeting  being  there  in 
its  regular  turn.  I  sat  behind  my  table,  before  the  open 
door  of  a  room,  mother  a  little  way  off,  perhaps  there 
were  a  few  more  within  that  room,  and  the  rest  were 
seated  in  the  larger  room  outside  the  open  door.  We 
had  sung  and  prayed,  and  I  was  making  remarks  on 
Is.  Ivii.  15,  when  our  door-bell  rang.  The  servant- 
girl  opened  the  door,  and  two  police  officers  came 
in,  leaving  a  guard  before  the  door  ;  they  pushed  right 
through  the  crowd,  came  into  the  room  where  mother 
and  myself  were  sitting,  closed  the  door  against  the 
rest  of  the  people,  shut  up  my  Bible,  and  requested  the 
privilege  of  asking  me  a  few  questions.  All  was  done 
quietly  and  politely.  I  was  asked  a  number  of  ques- 
tions, and  my  answers  were  put  in  writing ;  this  paper 
I  signed.  They  then  said  that  they  would  have  to  take 
(166) 


Persecution.  167 

with  them  the  books  I  used  at  the  meeting,  consisting 
of  a  German  Bible,  a  Moravian  hymn-book,  and  a  Httle 
book  with  tunes  which  I  used  with  the  latter,  to  furnish 
a  correct  bass  for  the  melody.  Of  course,  I  made  no  ob- 
jection. The  chief  officer  then  apologized  for  the  in- 
trusion, regretting  that  higher  orders  had  obliged  him 
to  disturb  us.  I  thanked  them  in  return  for  the  courte- 
ous manner  in  which  they  discharged  their  duty.  They 
then  went  out  into  the  outer  room,  dismissed  to  their 
homes  all  those  who  lived  as  separate  families  in  their 
own  or  hired  habitations,  and  marched  all  the  young 
men  who  lived  merely  in  rooms  to  the  police-station, 
where  their  residences  were  recorded,  and  they  were 
then  allowed  to  go.  Thus  the  beginning  of  persecu- 
tion against  Christ  and  His  truth  was  once  more  made. 
During  the  short  time  that  we  remained  in  Vienna, 
after  the  persecution  commenced,  these  poor  people, 
especially  the  poorer  ones,  and  the  young  unmarried 
laboring  men,  were  over  and  over  again  examined  by 
the  police,  and  cross-questioned.  With  the  more  re- 
spectable they  dealt  more  gently.  I  myself  was  never 
subjected  to  any  vexation  again,  though  I  expected 
and  wished  to  be  called  to  speak.  Several  pious  young 
men,  being  foreigners,  i.  e.  not  Austrian  subjects,  were 
unceremoniously  exiled,  and  even  escorted  out  of  the 
city  by  the  police,  like  culprits.  These  persecutions 
lasted  long  after  we  had  left,  and  young  women  were 
shut  up  with  thieves  and  vagabonds  in  prison,  without 
any  other  object  than  that  of  terrifying  the  whole  body 
of  meeting-goers  by  making  them  feel  the  powerful  arm 
of  the  parental  government. 


1 68  Autobiography. 

The  police  obviously  labored  to  bring  us  under  the 
sweep  of  some  paragraph  in  their  law,  for  our  meetings, 
in  themselves,  were  entirely  lawful,  and  we  were  perse- 
cuted without  the  shadow  of  a  charge ;  but  as  **  Soci- 
eties "  were  prohibited  in  Austria,  the  police  wished 
to  make  out,  that  we  had  a  name,  or  a  constitution, 
or  signs  to  recognize  each  other  by ;  or  were,  as  a  body^ 
in  correspondence  with  the  '*  Ausland ;  *'  or  that  I  re- 
ceived a  stipend  from  my  hearers,  or  gave  them  one. 
While  they  were  thus  annoyed  and  maltreated,  one  of 
the  poorer  brethren  came  to  me  and  asked :  '^  If  they 
ask  us  whether  we  have  ever  received  the  communion 
from  you,  (he  was  a  Catholic  by  birth,)  what  shall  we 
say?"  ''The  truth,"  I  answered.  But,  most  surpris- 
ingly, that  question  was  never  put  to  them,  though 
every  other  imaginable  thing  was  inquired  into  over 
and  over  again. 

At  one  time  a  society  of  stage-actors  and  other  lewd 
fellows  was  formed,  with  a  mock  constitution,  the  first 
article  of  which  was,  that  iri  their  meetings  not  a  reason- 
able word  should  be  spoken.  Their  object  was  fun  and 
folly,  drinking  and  smoking.  Immediately  they  were 
summoned  before  the  police.  Their  president  was  ex- 
amined. He  stated  the  object  of  the  society.  "  Why 
did  they  choose  you  for  president  ?  "  the  director  of  the 
police  asked  him.  He  replied,  "  Because  I'm  the  most 
stupid  of  them."  "  Well,  well,"  v/as  the  decision,  "  go, 
meet  as  often  as  you  wish,  but  don't  have  a  constitu- 
tion, for  it  is  forbidden."  This  story  is  characteristic 
of  that  "  paternal  government."  It  was  time  it  should 
be  overthrown. 


Persecution.  169 

I  could  not  detail  the  vexations  of  this  persecution  if 
I  would.  On  the  evening  when  our  house  was  entered, 
all  the  other  meeting-places  had  likewise  been  watched, 
so  that  wherever  we  might  have  met,  we  should  have 
been  interrupted  in  the  same  manner.  Soon  after  the 
first  blow,  the  police  visited  the  houses  of  those  who 
had  families,  or  lived  within  their  own,  or  their  hired 
habitations,  and  confiscated  all  their  religious  books. 
Visiting  these  families,  they  found  large  lithographic 
likenesses  of  Luther  and  Melancthon  on  the  walls,  and 
also  a  likeness  of  myself,  cast  in  metal,  which  was  made 
by  a  talented  young  man  soon  after  we  arrived.  *'  Are 
these  the  saints  you  worship?"  they  asked  carelessly. 
The  books  were  taken  to  the  office  of  the  Chief  of  Po- 
lice, and  there  tumbled  into  a  heap,  and  looked  through 
by  curious  police  officers  and  others.  Once,  one  of  the 
officers,  discovering  in  one  of  the  hymn-books  Luther's 
great  Reformation  Hymn,  "  Ein  feste  Burg  ist  unser 
Gott,"  exclaimed,  "  Ha !  there  is  that  famous  hymn  of 
Luther's.  I  have  long  wanted  to  see  it."  The  rest 
gathered  around  him,  and  he  read  it  aloud.  They  ad- 
mired it  greatly. 

Thus  these  things  went  on  till  the  middle  of  July, 
when  we  had  to  leave.  The  police  called  upon  me  no 
more,  though  I  expected  they  would,  while  the  poor  peo- 
ple were  annoyed  without  end.  I,  therefore,  went  to 
the  Minister  of  Police,  who  had  the  name  of  being  a  very 
immoral  man,  and  represented  to  him  that  I  was  kept 
unpleasantly  in  suspense,  not  being  visited  again  after 
the  police  had  entered  my  house,  and  being  neither 
condemned  nor  justified.  I  told  him  I  wished  to  be 
8 


1^0  Autobiography. 

heard,  and  I  knew  more  of  the  subject  of  investiga- 
tion, i.  e.  those  meetings,  than  any  of  my  hearers. 
He  repHed,  manifestly  lying,  that  he  knew  nothing 
of  the  whole  business,  but  that  I  had  better  call  on 
Baron  A.,  the  Director  of  Police,  who  would  do  what 
was  proper.  I  then  called  upon  Baron  A.,  at  the  Po- 
lice Headquarters,  and  was  very  politely  received.  I  re- 
peated what  I  had  said  to  the  Minister,  and  he  answered, 
that  as  soon  as  they  were  ready,  I  should  have  another 
hearing,  but  that,  if  my  printing  business  in  Vienna  was 
finished,  the  police  was  ready  to  grant  me  my  passport 
any  time  I  desired  it.  They  rather  ivished  to  get  rid  of 
me,  and  not  long  after.  Baron  A.  actually  sent  my  pass- 
port. This  I  resented,  and  sent  back  the  passport  to 
him,  letting  him  know,  with  my  compliments,  that 
whenever  I  wanted  it,  I  should  come  for  it.  I  never 
was  examined  again. 

About  this  time,  on  one  of  the  many  Catholic  holi- 
days, a  high  festival,  when  our  hotel  and  garden  were 
sure  to  be  filled  with  guests  in  the  afternoon,  an 
Imperial  or  Court  carriage  stopped  before  our  house. 
A  line  was  brought  in  from  the  Archduchess  Maria 
Dorothea,  inviting  mother  and  me  to  call  and  see  her 
at  once,  at  the  Imperial  Palace  in  the  city.  All  the 
neighborhood  was  astonished  that  a  Court  carriage 
should  stop  before  our  door,  and  we  step  in  and  drive 
off,  as  all  knew  perfectly  well  that  we  were,  so  to  speak, 
in  the  hands  of  the  police,  as  people  who  were  considered 
to  have  done  something  or  other  amiss. 

When  we  entered  the  apartments  of  her  Imperial 
Highness,  she  herself  rushed  to  the  door  to  meet  us, 


The  Work  of  Translation  Completed.    171 

and  seizing  me  by  the  hands,  exclaimed  :  "  Are  you 
really  out  of  prison,  dear  Schauffler?  Well,  had  you 
been  in  prison,  I  should  have  come  myself  to  take  you 
out."  I  had,  of  course,  to  tell  her  the  story  of  our  per- 
secution, as  far  as  it  had  proceeded.  She  wanted  to 
see  all  the  persecuted  people,  down  to  the  poorest  of 
them,  and  she  engaged  us  to  come  into  the  city  every 
day,  (insisting  upon  paying  for  our  carriages  herself,) 
and  so  to  arrange  with  our  persecuted  brethren  and 
sisters  as  always  to  have  a  limited  number  of  them  with 
us.  Thus,  after  having  our  gatherings  broken  up  by 
the  police,  and  our  united  prayers  prohibited  by  them, 
the  Lord  made  room  for  us  in  the  Imperial  palace,  and 
we  had  prayers  alongside  of  the  Emperor's  own  suite 
of  apartments. 

With  the  close  of  June,  my  printing  work  was  finish- 
ed, and  we  began  to  make  preparations  for  our  return 
to  Constantinople. 

The  police  having  kept  an  obstinate  silence  in  ref- 
erence to  me,  and  never  having  permitted  me  to  speak 
again  before  them,  I  thought  they  wished  me  to  depart 
with  a  stigma  upon  my  character.  The  Minister  of  Po- 
lice once  remarked  to  our  Charg^  d'Affaires,  Mr.  Clay,  at 
a  diplomatic  dinner,  that  the  police  found  no  fault,  in 
these  investigations,  with  "  Doctor"  SchaufBer,  (as  they 
called  me,)  and  that  I  could  make  any  arrangements  to 
return  to  my  former  residence,  without  objection  on 
their  part.  Still,  I  was  anxious  to  show  my  face  and 
my  Roman  citizenship  fully  before  I  left,  in  order  to 
make  all  concerned  understand  that  I  had  done  nothing 
amiss,  and  was  not  afraid  of  the  face  of  man.     In  my 


172  Autobiography. 

standing  as  a  literary  foreigner,  I  had  the  right  of  re- 
questing a  private  audience  with  the  Emperor,  {public 
audience  any  one  may  have,)  and  even  of  being  intro- 
duced to  him  by  Prince  Metternich.  But  as  the  latter 
would  have  put  me  off,  under  some  pretext,  and  as  I  was 
ready  to  go,  I  went  to  the  Emperor's  '*  Chambers,"  ac- 
companied by  a  friend,  a  man  of  experience  and  stand- 
ing. For  such  an  audience  there  must  be  an  object,  and 
I  therefore  stated  it  as  my  object  to  present  to  the 
Emperor  a  copy  of  the  Hebrew-Spanish  translation 
which  I  had  printed  in  Vienna,  and  which  (as  I  could 
truly  say)  I  could  not  have  done  as  well  anywhere 
in  Germany,  or  anywhere  out  of  Austria.  As  the 
Emperor  knew  the  Spanish  language,  and  was  pleased 
with  everything  distinguished  done  in  his  Empire,  1 
thought  it  would  please  him  to  see  a  copy.  As  the 
Emperor  was  continually  annoyed  with  presents  by 
people  who  only  wanted  to  get  some  Imperial  toy,  with 
which  afterwards  to  parade  themselves  in  society,  or  per- 
haps to  get  a  so-called  "  gratification  "  in  money,  we 
stated  at  the  ''  Chambers,"  that  no  acknowledgment 
of  this  kind  was  desired,  and  that  it  would  rather 
injure  the  feelings  of  the  applicant  than  gratify  them. 
The  object  was,  to  show  the  Emperor  a  creditable  fruit 
of  Austrian  industry.  A  few  days  after  I  received  a 
''  notice  "  from  the  "■  Chambers,"  that  the  Emperor  would 
see  me  on  such  a  day  and  hour,  admonishing  me  to  be 
prompt  in  my  attendance  at  the  palace,  as  there  would 
be  few  persons  to  be  introduced  on  that  day.  Of 
course,  I  was  precise,  and  really,  very  few  were  present 
in    the    Emperor's    ante -chamber.      My    books    were 


The  Work  of  Translation  Completed.    173 

looked  at  by  the  company,  and  admired.  When  my 
turn  came,  the  chamberlain  opened  the  door,  and  led 
me  in  with  my  Bible,  which  was  in  two  quarto  volumes. 
The  room  where  the  Emperor  received  was  very  simple, 
without  any  pretensions  to  elegance,  and  had  only  a 
few  articles  of  furniture.  The  Emperor  was  in  civil 
dress,  a  poor,  sickly  man,  his  head  shaking  from  weak- 
ness, his  looks  obtuse  from  paralytic  attacks,  to  which 
he  had  been  subject  from  his  youth,  but  there  was  much 
kindness  in  his  looks  and  demeanor.  I  explained  to 
him  briefly  the  object  of  the  work  I  had  the  honor  of 
laying  before  him.  He  expressed  his  approval  of  it, 
and  hoped  God  would  bless  it  to  the  poor  Jews  in 
Turkey.  He  rejoiced  that  it  had  been  done  so  beauti- 
fully, and  with  entire  innocence,  no  doubt,  he  asked  me 
whether  my  residence  in  his  city  had  been  pleasant. 
This  I  could  answer  in  the  affirmative,  (leaving  out  the 
police,)  and  I  thanked  him  for  the  comfort  and  the  de- 
gree of  protection  I  had  been  favored  with  while  here, 
— not  mentioning  the  discomfort  of  our  persecution, — 
and  then  I  took  my  leave,  as  I  had  made  my  entrance, 
with  the  usual  three  bows.  My  feelings,  as  I  stood  be- 
fore this  monarch  of  a  great  Empire,  were  those  of  almost 
unmingled  pity,  and  as  I  drove  out  of  the  "  Burg,"  or 
palace  gate,  I  could  not  but  sigh,  "  Lord,  Thou  hast  de- 
nied almost  everything  to  this  man  on  earth,  give  him 
a  portion  in  the  better  world  ! "  I  had  no  idea  that  in 
six  years  this  poor  man  would  have  to  pass  through  the 
thunder  and  hail  storm  of  a  revolution,  make  conces- 
sions to  the  people,  enough  to  wreck  Austrian  despot- 
ism and  popish  arrogance  together,  and  then  abdicate, 


174  Autobiography. 

and  make  his  escape  without  purple  and  crown  and 
sceptre. 

We  left  Vienna  about  the  middle  of  July.  The  place 
of  embarkation  was  below  the  city,  so  that  we  had  to 
drive  thither  in  a  cab,  through  the  **  Prater."  We  passed 
the  hotel  where  we  had  first  stopped,  and  the  house 
where  our  meetings  began,  and  where  Edward  was  born. 
We  passed  along  the  beautiful  park,  but  our  hearts  were 
sad.  Unexpectedly,  we  found  at  the  place  of  embarka- 
tion almost  all  our  meeting  people  assembled  in  the 
open  air.  How  we  should  have  liked  to  do  as  Paul  did, 
kneel  down  with  them  by  the  river-side,  and  once  more 
pray  together.  But  the  place  was  not  secluded  enough. 
We  took  leave  of  one  another,  never  again  to  meet  here 
below,  and  we  went  on  board.  As  our  steamer  made  a 
turn  to  head  down  the  river,  they  all  stood  on  the 
shore,  a  little  flock  of  persecuted  sheep  without  a  shep- 
herd, and  we  could  do  nothing  for  them  but  commend 
them  to  God. 

The  persecution,  the  never-ending  annoyances,  event- 
ually drove  all  these  people  from  Vienna.  There  was 
no  end  of  wrong  and  cruelty.  Some  went  to  Pesth, 
some  to  Berlin,  some  to  Breslau,  some  to  other  places. 

Not  long  before  we  left,  the  officer  of  police  at  Dob- 
ling  came  to  our  dwelling  with  another  gentleman,  and 
requested  to  see  my  pile  of  letters.  He  was  very  polite, 
and  observed  that  he  had  induced  the  other  gentleman 
to  put  on  a  civil  dress  in  order  to  prevent  people  from 
making  observations.  I  thanked  him  for  the  kind  in- 
tention, but  assured  him  that  I  had  no  objection  to  any 
number  of  officers  and  sheriffs  coming  to  my  dwelling 


Destruction  of  Letters.  175 

as  often  as  they  pleased.  I  considered  my  character 
beyond  their  reach,  and  was  entirely  willing  to  have  it 
known  and  seen  daily,  that  I  was  under  religious  per- 
secution. Looking  on  the  extensive  bundles  of  letters, 
he  said,  "  There  are  very  many,  and  not  a  few  of  them 
English."  These  he  could  not  read,  and  requested  per- 
mission to  take  them  home,  assuring  me  that  I  should 
have  them  back  in  the  morning.  He  took  them,  but 
never  sent  them  back.  When  I  inquired  for  them,  he 
excused  himself,  saying  the  correspondence  was  called 
for  by  his  superior  officers,  and  the  letters  were  at  the 
Central  Police  Office,  where  I  must  call  for  them.  In 
1855  I  called  at  the  Central  Office,  where  the  very  officer 
in  question  was  now  in  a  higher  position.  He  seemed 
to  have  a  faint  recollection  of  the  thing,  but  told  me 
that,  since  1848,  all  had  been  reorganized  in  all  their 
departments,  and  those  letters  had  probably  been  de- 
stroyed. Doubtless  the  fire  of  popular  vengeance  swept 
them  away  during  the  revolution  of  that  memorable 
year.     Here  endeth  our  Vienna  life. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

RECEPTION  OF  THE  TRANSLATION — PERSECUTION  OF 
THE  ARMENIANS — RELIEF. 

WHEN  we  left  Vienna,  it  was  just  about  ten 
years  after  my  arrival  at  Constantinople  as  a 
missionary,  and  nearly  eight  and  a  half  years  since  we 
began  laboring  together,  mother  and  myself.  Our 
changes  had  been  sufficiently  numerous,  and  our  com- 
forts, as  well  as  our  trials,  great.  We  had  most  abun- 
dant reason  to  be  grateful  to  the  Lord,  for  guiding  and 
guarding  us  thus  far. 

While  I  was  engaged  in  preparing  the  Hebrew- 
Spanish  translation  of  the  pid  Testament,  I  had  often 
thought,  "  If  I  but  live  to  finish  this  work,  I  shall  con- 
sider my  missionary  life  as  a  success,  secured  and  safe, 
and  whatever  else  I  may  be  able  to  do,  as  so  much  ad- 
ditional labor,  to  fill  out  the  remainder  of  my  days." 
The  work  was  now  finished,  and  I  was  carrying  a  part 
of  it,  ready  for  dissemination,  to  Constantinople.  How- 
ever, I  was  not  without  many  fears  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  the  Jews,  especially  the  Rabbis,  would  receive 
the  work.  I  had  been  obliged  to  make  many  changes 
in  the  style  while  at  Vienna,  and  the  book  of  Job,  too 
difficult  for  my  amanuensis  in  Constantinople,  was  done 
entirely  without  help.  I  was  much  bolder  in  shaping  the 
text  into  tolerably  good  Spanish  than  any  other  mis- 
(176) 


Reception  gf  the  Translation.  177 

sionary  was  willing  to  be.  And  now  it  was  to  be  seen 
whether  I  had  judged  aright,  and  whether  an  edition 
of  3,000  copies  of  the  Old  Testament  was  to  be  accept- 
ed or  rejected  by  the  people  for  whom  it  was  intended. 

In  my  expectation  that  we  should  have  a  good  time 
in  Pesth,  I  was  not  deceived,  but  the  result  far  exceed- 
ed my  hopes. 

When  we  reached  Pesth,  as  we  came  from  the  steamer, 
Mr.  Allen  flezv,  as  it  were,  into  our  embrace.  At  our 
first  evening  meeting  at  Dr.  Duncan's  house,  we  felt 
that  a  revival  had  begun.  We  took  a  large,  beautiful 
room  at  the  ''Tiger"  Hotel. 

It  would  be  impossible  now  to  recall  the  crowding 
events,  and  the  meetings,  constantly  growing  in  interest, 
during  this  ten  days'  stay.  The  English  families,  a  few 
of  whom  were  residing  there,  (in  government  employ,  I 
believe,)  were  first  reached  by  the  influence  of  these 
meetings,  but  soon  the  Jews  began  to  be  touched,  and 
the  richest  fruits  were  among  them.  A  revival  began 
among  them,  which  proved  the  greatest  in  Israel  since 
the  Apostolic  days.  Readers  may  refer  to  the  Free 
Church  Record  for  particulars  of  that  blessed  season. 
The  inquirers  and  eventual  converts  from  among  the 
Jews  were  all  of  the  educated  classes,  who  had,  prob- 
ably, most  of  them,  held  friendly  intercourse  with  these 
missionaries  during  the  year  past,  and  had  thus  been 
gradually  prepared  for  the  days  of  Divine  power. 
Among  them  was  the  highly-accomplished  Saphir 
family.  A  little  son,  (I  think  the  youngest  in  the 
family,)  aged  about  twelve  years,  a  most  beautiful  child, 
was  brought  to  Christ  during  these  ten  days,  and  I 
8* 


178  Autobiography. 

never  saw  a  little  fellow  who  looked  more  like  an  angel 
dressed  in  human  form  and  apparel.  From  the  moment 
of  his  conversion,  he  was  anxious  for  the  salvation  of 
the  rest  of  the  family,  especially  for  that  of  his  venerable 
father.  Timidly  and  modestly  he  improved  every  op- 
portunity of  inviting  all  around  to  Jesus,  so  precious  to 
Jiim,  and  they  took  it  kindly,  and  called  him  their  little 
missionary.  I  never  can  forget  the  little  boy's  interest- 
ing appearance,  when,  after  our  farewell  evening  meet- 
ing at  Dr.  Duncan's,  I  took  leave  of  his  father,  who  then 
was  bowed  down  under  a  sense  of  sin,  and  a  realization 
of  the  necessity  of  redemption.  With  the  deepest  con- 
cern, he  looked  up  into  his  father's  face,  to  see  whether 
my  parting  invitation  would,  perhaps,  turn  the  leaf  with 
him.  The  lad  is  now  (1887)  a  minister  of  the  Gospel 
in  London,  highly  esteemed,  and  very  useful  in  the 
Church. 

During  these  ten  days  we  also  visited  our  good  Arch- 
duchess, Maria  Dorothea,  and,  as  usual,  had  a  very 
profitable  time  with  her.  She  was  delighted  to  hear  of 
the  good  work  in  Pesth.  Before  we  left,  she  sent  over 
to  our  hotel  a  little  gold  watch  for  mother,  and  some 
other  little  things  as  presents. 

The  passage  down  the  Danube  could  hardly  have 
been  duller,  but  of  this  we  did  not  complain.  From 
Varna  to  the  Bosporus  we  had  an  ugly  sea  across  our 
bows,  which  made  everybody  sick,  an  Irish  doctor  and 
myself  being  the  only  ones  of  the  cabin  passengers 
to  be  up  and  about.  I  had  my  hands  full  till  we  entered 
the  Bosporus.  We  were  kindly  received  by  the  dear 
Dwights,  and  remained  with  them  till  we  had  a  house 


Persecution  of  the  Armenians.  179 

ready  to  receive  us.  As  usual,  in  such  cases,  we  found 
our  furniture  much  injured  by  being  stowed  away,  and 
removed,  with  the  removal  of  the  family  who  kept  it, 
from  house  to  house.  But  we  had  more  important 
things  to  think  of  immediately  on  arriving.  Henry  and 
Edward  brought  the  Danube  fever  with  them.  Edward 
shook  it  off,  but  Henry  was  very  severely  attacked. 
For  a  whole  day  he  lay,  as  it  were,  on  the  borders  of 
eternity,  his  eyes  shut,  and  no  sign  of  life  left  in  him. 
But  he  recovered,  to  our  unspeakable  joy,  and  when  the 
disease  was  overcome,  he  was  rapidly  restored  to  his 
usual  health  and  strength. 

We  were  fortunate  in  finding  a  convenient  house  be- 
hind the  English  palace.  In  this  house  we  stayed  quietly 
till  1848,  when  it  burned  down  in  the  great  Pera  fire, 
while  we  were  spending  our  summer  season  at  Bebek. 

My  work  now  was,  to  disseminate  my  edition  of  the 
Hebrew  and  Hebrew-Spanish  Bible  among  the  Jews. 
The  edition  was  scattered  rapidly,  and  not  one  word  of 
objection  was  uttered  by  the  Jews,  either  Rabbis  or 
people.  The  chief  Rabbi,  to  whom  I  sent  a  copy,  sent 
me  his  thanks,  and  a  strong  recommendation  of  the 
work.  He  admonished  the  people  to  buy  and  read  the 
good  book.  I  had  this  exhortation  printed  and  placed 
in  the  front  of  the  first  volume. 

At  that  time  the  Armenian  work  was  going  on 
quietly,  but  under  much  pressure,  and  strictly  watched 
by  the  jealous  Armenian  Patriarch.  There  were  a  few 
individuals  who  ran  well,  though,  in  later  years,  even 
of  these  few,  some  made  sad  defection.  They  were 
greatly   benefited    by   the   persecuting  pressure   upon 


i8o  Autobiography. 

them  ;  and  the  consciousness  that  they  were  a  band  of 
oppressed  believers  in  the  Gospel,  gave  them  strength. 
I  do  not  remember  exactly  when  it  was  that  they  be- 
gan to  have  private  meetings  among  themselves  in  the 
upper  story  of  our  house.  On  our  arrival  from  Vienna, 
I  was  most  happy  to  hear  that  Mr.  Dwight  had  meet- 
ings with  them  secretly  (not  in  his  house),  and  was 
reading  the  Scriptures  with  them,  and  expounding 
as  he  read.  They  were  very  glad,  however,  to  avail 
themselves  of  our  parlor,  for  in  no  other  missionary 
house  could  they  possibly  have  met.  Those  houses 
were  closely  watched  by  Armenian  spies,  and  the  very 
servants  of  the  families  would  have  betrayed  them. 
Our  house  was  not  watched,  and  our  servants  were 
Germans,  and  in  no  sympathy  with  the  Armenians. 
Many  a  meeting  these  men,  about  half  a  dozen  in  num- 
ber, held  at  our  house,  warmed  by  our  stove,  and  bodily 
refreshed  by  what  mother  sent  them  to  eat,  with  a  good, 
warm  cup  of  coffee.  Late  in  the  year  1843,  Drs.  Rufus 
Anderson  and  Joel  Hawes  visited  the  Eastern  mis- 
sions. They  met  the  few  Armenian  brethren  in  the 
parlor  of  our  house,  in  all  secrecy,  and  greatly  rejoiced 
to  see  them.  "  This  is  a  church,"  Dr.  Anderson  said. 
It  was  more  than  they  had  expected  to  see,  for  they 
seemed  really  afraid  that  the  Armenian  work  was  a 
failure,  as  the  Nestorian  had  thus  far  proved.  But  here 
they  found  something  to  encourage  their  hopes.  They 
visited  Broosa,  and  were  much  disappointed,  for  the 
letters  of  the  missionaries,  always  full  of  hope,  had  raised 
their  expectations  too  high.  In  Smyrna,  they  had  found 
nothing,  saye  a  crowd  of   missionaries  of  various  so- 


Persecution  of  the  Armenians.         i8i 

cieties,  and  their  printing-press.  In  Trebizond,  they 
were  happily  disappointed,  for  Mr.  Johnston,  over- 
modest  in  all  his  ways,  had  been  so  careful  not  to 
make  too  good  an  impression,  that  they  expected  to 
find  nothing  there  ;  but  the  place  was  not  void  of  real 
results,  and  they  rejoiced.  In  reference  to  the  Jewish 
work.  Dr.  Anderson,  who  seems  to  have  had  plenipo- 
tentiary powers,  said,  "  Now,  we  will  make  a  mission 
out  of  the  Jewish  work ;  I  will  separate  it  from  the 
Armenian,  and  make  it  a  mission  by  itself,  and  we  will 
send  you  men."  This  promise  was  not  kept  as  to  its 
latter  part,  until  the  year  1849. 

I  return  to  the  time  when  the  clouds  of  persecution 
began  to  gather,  portending  a  severe  storm.  A  young 
man  was  publicly  executed  in  Constantinople  for  re- 
turning from  Islamism,  to  which  he  had  made  defection 
from  Christianity,  to  his  former  profession.  But  this 
was  not  the  only  case.  Similar  events  took  place  in 
other  cities  of  Turkey,  at  short  intervals  of  time.  The 
first  execution  happened  in  August,  1843  5  others  fol- 
lowed. 

At  last  the  Foreign  Ambassadors  at  Constantinople 
took  up  the  matter,  led  by  Sir  Stratford  Canning  (after- 
wards Lord  de  Redcliffe),  as  representative  of  Great 
Britain.  Thus  a  tremendous  controversy  arose  between 
"  the  powers  that  be,"  in  which  men,  otherwise  little 
concerned  for  Gospel  truth,  came  to  close  quarters  with 
the  bigoted  Mussulmans.  At  the  court,  Riza  Pasha, 
the  great  enemy  of  Europeans  generally,  and  a  most 
determined  character,  was  at  the  head  of  the  Mussul- 
man phalanx.     The  other  Ambassadors  seemed  gradu- 


1 82  Autobiography. 

ally  to  retreat  from  the  position  they  had  taken  ;  at  any 
rate,  they  did  not  press  the  question,  and  the  fight  was 
left  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  English  Ambassador. 
He  told  me  afterwards  that  every  argument  was  ex- 
hausted on  both  sides,  and  pressed  with  the  utmost 
urgency  and  vigor,  till  Riza  Pasha  declared  categorical- 
ly, that  their  ''Book"  enjoined  the  execution  of  such 
apostates  from  Islamism,  and  that  foreign  powers  had 
no  right  to  interfere  with  a  matter  involving,  on  the 
part  of  the  Turks,  the  performance  of  a  religious  duty. 

Sir  Stratford,  on  receiving  this  communication,  went 
to  his  library,  and  took  down  the  Koran,  at  which,  he 
told  me,  he  had  not  looked  for  years,  and  on  opening 
the  volume,  his  eye  lit  upon  a  passage,  saying  '*  that  the 
man  who  made  defection  from  the  faith  should  die,  and 
his  soul  would  go  to  hell/'  Calling  for  a  dragoman  in 
their  service,  he  asked  him  whether  there  was  any  pas- 
sage in  the  Koran  ordering  that  such  a  man  should  be 
executed,  and  on  being  informed  that  there  was  not,  he 
replied  to  the  Porte,  that  there  was  no  such  duty  en- 
joined upon  them  by  their  own  Book,  and  that  he 
insisted  upon  the  abrogation  of  the  barbarous  usage. 
Here  the  controversy  ceased.  Sir  Stratford  declared 
that  he  would  receive  no  farther  communications  on  the 
subject,  nor  any  more  visits,  nor  see  any  more  sub- 
ordinate officers  of  the  Government.  He  insisted  upon 
seeing  the  Sultan  himself.  All  intercourse  between  the 
English  Ambassador  and  the  Sublime  Porte  was  now 
suspended.  The  whole  city  looked  sullen  at  this  state 
of  things,  and  everybody  felt  apprehensive  of  an  out- 
break among  the  Mohammedans  against  the  Christians. 


Persecution  of  the  Armenians.  183 

At  last  the  Porte  yielded,  and  the  personal  interview- 
between  the  Sultan  and  Sir  Stratford  was  arranged. 
The  Ambassador  went  to  the  Sultan,  in  full  state,  and 
the  Sultan  had  his  pages,  attendants,  and  guards  turned 
out  for  this  reception,  as  though  he  had  been  a  king. 
Riza  Pasha  received  Sir  Stratford  in  the  court,  accom- 
panied him  to  the  door  of  the  Sultan's  apartments,  and 
on  bowing  him  in,  asked  him  to  speak  well  of  him. 
The  interview  between  the  Sultan  and  the  Ambassador 
was  short,  and  the  former  gave  the  Ambassador  the 
promise,  with  his  own  right  hand,  that  no  man  should 
henceforth  be  executed  on  the  ground  in  dispute. 

As  soon  as  this  great  question  was  settled  between 
the  Sultan  and  the  English  Ambassador,  Riza  Pasha 
bestirred  himself  to  control  the  popular  excitement 
among  the  Mohammedans,  which,  by  this  time,  had  be- 
come very  alarming.  Multitudes,  it  was  said,  had 
crowded  into  Constantinople  from  the  country,  in  ex- 
pectation of  an  opposition  to  Government,  or  to  the 
Franks.  Things  looked  very  ominous.  But  Riza  Pasha 
took  the  wind  out  of  their  sails  in  fine  Turkish  fashion 
He  had  all  the  males  in  Constantinople  gathered  into 
the  various  mosque-yards,  or  courts,  and  examined. 
Those  who  had  homes  or  occupations,  or  were  connect- 
ed so  as  to  inspire  confidence,  were  let  out,  by  one  door, 
to  go  about  their  business,  and  those  who  looked  sus- 
picious, were  sent  out  by  another  gate,  and  transported 
to  a  solitary  part  of  the  Princes*  Islands,  which  lie 
several  miles  from  the  city  in  the  Marmora  Sea.  Here 
they  w^ere  fed  by  the  Government,  supplied  liberally 
with  coffee  and  tobacco,  entertained  by  players  on  bag- 


1 84  Autobiography. 

pipes,  dancing  bears,  and  monkeys,  and  then,  after  a 
few  days,  put  into  the  army  and  navy.  The  Prussian 
Ambassador  said  to  me,  some  years  after,  *'  If  they  can 
bear  that,  there  is  no  fear  that  the  Turks  will  ever  rise 
against  their  own  government." 

Thus  the  Lord  prepared  the  way  for  the  time  when 
help  was  needed  against  the  persecution,  not  of  Chris- 
tians by  Turks,  but  of  Christians  by  professed  Chris- 
tians;  for  by  this  diplomatic  triumph  of  England  over 
the  persecuting  spirit  of  Islamism,  Sir  Stratford  had 
become  the  acknowledged  guardian  of  liberty  of  con- 
science in  Turkey. 

The  importance  of  this  Providential  preparation  for 
the  great  struggle,  appeared  immediately  when  the  fire 
of  persecution  was  kindled.  Sir  Stratford  himself  ac- 
knowledged the  Providential  character  of  this  great 
event  of  his  life.  He  afterwards,  when  I  had  become 
better  acquainted  with  him,  said  to  me  :  ''  We  diplomats 
had  no  such  thing  in  view,  as  now  appears  to  have  re- 
sulted from  that  struggle  with  the  Government.  We  pur- 
sued an  entirely  different  object,  but  God  has  brought 
out  of  it  what  no  one  of  us  expected  to  see."  But  I  am 
anticipating.  Let  me,  therefore,  return  to  the  Jewish 
field,  and  then  say  a  few  things,  not  otherwise  told,  con- 
nected with  the  Armenian  Patriarch's  persecution  of 
the  "  Gospel-men." 

At  their  General  Assembly,  in  1843,  the  Established 
Church  of  Scotland,  the  "  Kirk,"  was  rent  in  twain,  and 
those  who  protested  against  the  encroachment  of  the 
temporal  power  in  matters  purely  religious,  went  out  to 
form  the  "  Free  Church  of  Scotland."     That  noble  act 


Persecution  of  the  Armenians.  185 

of  so  many  great  and  good  men,  who  were  followed  by 
an  unexpectedly  large  portion  of  the  people,  is  a  page 
in  ecclesiastical  history  that  will  ever  claim  one  of  the 
first  places  in  point  of  solemnity  and  importance.  Not 
a  single  foreign  missionary  remained  in  the  residuary 
old  Kirk.  All  went  out,  and  the  Kirk  remained  without 
a  scrap  of  Foreign  Missionary  ground  or  work.  Dr. 
Duncan  expressed  great  anxiety  on  the  subject  while 
we  were  at  Pesth,  still  adhering,  as  they  all  did,  i7i  prin- 
ciple y  to  the  connection  of  Church  and  State,  as  the 
proper  condition  of  both.  During  the  winter  of  1842-3, 
Dr.  Keith,  the  great  Scotch  expounder  of  apocalyptic 
prophesies,  passed  a  short  time  at  Constantinople,  be- 
ing on  a  tour  :  he  was  a  member  (perhaps  the  convener) 
of  the  Missionary  Committee  for  Jewish  missions.  They 
had  surplus  funds  (a  rare  thing  for  a  Missionary  Society), 
and  wished  to  dispose  of  them,  honestly,  of  course,  for 
Jewish  Missionary  purposes,  before  the  coming  disrup- 
tion of  the  Church.  Dr.  Keith  asked  me  to  make  out  a 
list  of  missionary  objects  desirable  to  be  accomplished, 
and  for  which  I  needed  funds.  I  made  such  a  list,  in- 
cluding half  the  edition  of  the  Hebrew-Spanish  Bible, 
now  ready  ;  an  abundant  supply  of  Hebrew  and  Hebrew- 
Spanish  type,  matrices,  casting-moulds,  and  other  ap- 
paratus for  a  Hebrew  printing  department  (excluding 
presses,  for  which  we  had  no  occasion);  Hebrew  school- 
cards,  to  be  prepared  for  Jewish  schools  generally  ;  funds 
for  publishing  tracts,  etc.  The  whole  amounted  to 
more  than  $2,200.  That  entire  sum  v/as  readily  granted 
to  me.  I,  therefore,  bought  half  of  the  edition  of  the 
Hebrew-Spanish  Bible  from  the  American  Bible  Society, 


1 86  Autobiography. 

which  I  afterwards  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  Scotch 
missionaries  laboring  among  the  Jews  here,  when  we 
left  the  Jewish  field  altogether, 

Mr.  Calhoun  being  then  stationed  here,  as  agent  of 
the  American  Bible  Society,  and  they  being  Hberally 
inclined,  the  Bible  was  disseminated  gratuitously,  to  a 
great  extent,  to  encourage  the  Jews  in  returning  to  their 
sacred  Scriptures,  and  to  show  charity  to  the  poor. 
But  we  kept  within  such  bounds  of  liberality  that  the 
regard  for  the  Book  and  the  appreciation  of  our  liber- 
ality were  not  diminished  that  I  know  of.  The  edition 
was  becoming  exhausted  sooner  than  we  had  calculated, 
for  the  Jews  were  almost  destitute  of  any  Hebrew- 
Spanish  text  in  any  shape,  and  a  few  years  after,  our 
type,  bought  by  Scotch  liberality,  having  been  received, 
we  printed  another  edition  of  5,000  copies  (8,000  in  all), 
here  at  Constantinople,  and  I  had,  once  more,  to  cor- 
rect a  Hebrew  Bible  text,  with  all  its  vowel-points  and 
accents  innumerable. 

For  the  more  detailed  history  of  the  great  persecu- 
tion waged  by  the  Armenian  Patriarch  against  the 
"  Gospel-men,"  by  which  they  were  driven  to  the  neces- 
sity of  forming  a  separate  church,  I  must  refer  you  to 
Dr.  Dwight's  book.  I  will  confine  myself  to  something 
more  connected  with  ourselves,  and  not  mentioned 
there. 

When  the  storm  burst  upon  us,  we  had  no  efficient 
diplomatic  support.  Our  own  Ambassador  represented 
a  distant  country,  and  was  diplomatically  a  seco7id-class 
Representative.  He  could  do  nothing  worth  mention- 
ing.    With  Sir  Stratford  Canning,  none  of  us,  except 


Relief.  187 

Mr.  Goodell,  had  any  personal  acquaintance.  The  con- 
cession he  had  wrested  from  the  Turks  did  not  touch 
our  case,  and  it  was  very  uncertain  whether  he  would 
acknowledge  the  persecution  of  Christians  by  Christians, 
as  falling  within  the  scope  of  his  influence.  The  station, 
however,  having  no  other  human  means  to  look  to,  de- 
cided on  an  appeal  to  Sir  Stratford  for  his  official  inter- 
ference. A  statement,  accompanied  by  a  note,  was  to 
be  laid  before  him.  When  it  came  to  the  question, 
who  should  write  the  note  and  sign  it,  all  decHned, 
even  Mr.  Goodell,  none  feeling  entitled  to  address  Sir 
Stratford,  from  lack  of  personal  acquaintance,  for  he  was 
known  to  be  excessively  punctilious  in  matters  of  eti- 
quette. It  was  put  upon  me,  who  never  exchanged  even 
a  salutation  with  him.  I  declined  also,  but  they  in- 
sisted upon  it,  saying  that  I,  being  a  Jewish  missionary, 
could  do  it  without  being  subject  to  the  charge  of 
soliciting  help  in  my  own  interests  as  a  missionary. 
Unwillingly,  I  consented,  feeling  the  delicacy  of  my 
situation,  but  seeing  no  other  way  to  accomplish  the 
object. 

The  result  was  unexpectedly  happy.  Sir  Stratford 
replied  to  me  in  a  very  courteous  note.  He  promised 
to  attend  to  the  matter  immediately,  and  kept  his  word, 
as  he  always  did. 

For  some  considerable  time  I  remained  the  only 
go-between  for  the  mission  in  this  persecution  mat- 
ter, and  document  after  document  passed  through  my 
hands,  and  call  after  call  was  made  by  me  at  the  British 
palace,  to  reply  to  questions  or  to  make  statements, 
till  Sir  Stratford's  patience  was  almost  exhausted. 


i88  Autobiography. 

Our  efforts  to  secure  this  protection  for  the  perse- 
cuted Armenians,  were  well-nigh  frustrated  by  one  of 
our  countrymen,  Mr.  Southgate.  Mr.  Southgate,  a 
ritualistic  Episcopalian,  very  naturally  took  the  part  of 
the  persecuting  Patriarch,  and  considered  the  "  Gospel- 
men  "  rebels  against  the  apostolic  succession  of  the 
Patriarch  and  the  priesthood.  In  his  letters  home,  in 
the  Spirit  of  Missions^  he  represented  the  Gospel  move- 
ment among  them  as  ''  a  mixture  of  Radicalism  and  in- 
fidelity." He  labored  with  all  his  might  to  make  the 
British  Ambassador  believe  that  there  was  no  persecu- 
tion going  on,  but  that  only  church  discipline  was  being 
administered,  with  which  no  one  ought  to  interfere. 
He  brought  the  persecuting  Patriarch,  and  presented 
him  to  Sir  Stratford.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  meek 
and  dignified  conduct,  and  the  air  of  sanctity  of  that 
man,  and  they  almost  succeeded  in  persuading  the 
Ambassador  to  abandon  our  cause. 

It  was  once,  just  after  such  a  visit  from  these  two 
men,  that  I  presented  myself  at  the  British  palace,  by 
previous  appointment.  I  found  Sir  Stratford  unusual- 
ly stiff,  almost  discourteous.  He  did  not  shake  hands 
with  me.  He  had  a  whole  pile  of  persecution  docu- 
ments before  him,  which  I  had  sent  him  in  quick  suc- 
cession. Something  like  the  following  conversation 
took  place  :  Sir  Stratford :  "■  This  is  a  most  perplexing 
business ;  you  come  to  me  to  fight  your  battles,  and 
tell  me  there  is  persecution,  and  here,  just  a  few  min- 
utes ago,  the  Armenian  Patriarch  and  Mr.  Southgate 
assured  me,  that  there  is  no  persecution  practised,  but 
that  all  there  is,  is  church  discipline."     /.•  "  Sir  Strat- 


Relief.  189 

ford,  allow  me  to  say  that  we  have  no  battles  of  our 
own  or  for  ourselves  to  fight.  We  are  not  persecuted, 
and  if  we  were,  we  have  our  own  representative  here, 
and  should  have  no  right  to  trouble  you.  But  the 
poor  Armenian  families  are  suffering  for  conscience' 
sake,  and  they  have  no  human  help  but  you,  and  no 
means  of  addressing  you  except  through  us."  Sir 
Stratford:  ''Well,  now,  look  at  this  pile  of  docu- 
ments "  (he  took  them  up),  "  it  is  no  small  undertaking 
even  to  read  them,  and  I  have  no  leisure  time  to  read 
everybody's  complaints."  /.*  "I  am  aware  that  these 
persecuted  people  have  no  right  to  come  to  you,  and 
we  have  no  right  to  assist  them  in  coming.  But  Provi- 
dence has  made  you  the  guardian  of  liberty  of  con- 
science in  Turkey,  and,  therefore,  they  come,  and  we 
knock  at  your  door  on  their  behalf.  I  regret  to  be  a 
medium  of  giving  you  so  much  trouble,  and,  perhaps,  I 
have  already  gone  beyond  the  bounds  of  propriety  by 
sending  in  so  many  papers.  If  so,  please  to  let  me  know 
it,  and  from  that  moment  you  will  not  receive  another 
line,  passing  through  my  hands."  Sir  Stratford:  "  I 
did  not  say  that  !  but,  upon  my  word,  it  is  a  bold  thing 
to  attack  the  established  religion  of  a  land  and  people. 
If  I  were  a  king,  I  would  not  permit  it."  /.•  '*  If  you 
were  a  king,  you  would  certainly  prohibit  and  prevent 
it,  but  you  would  do  wrong.  You  might  happen  to 
prohibit  the  religion  which  Paul  and  the  other  apostles 
preached  to  the  world."  He  made  no  reply  to  this, 
but  seemed  to  feel  that  he  had  made  a  hasty  remark. 
To  wrong  any  one  was  far  from  his  thoroughly  upright 
mind.     A  few  more  remarks  were  exchanged.     Refer- 


190  Autobiography. 

ring  to  the  Patriarch's  denial  that  there  was  any  perse- 
cution, I  begged  Sir  Stratford  to  look  at  the  last  paper 
I  had  sent  him,  and  to  judge  for  himself.  He  took  it 
up,  ran  over  it,  and  kindling  with  indignation,  threw  it 
violently  on  the  table,  exclaiming  :  ''  IT  IS  persecution^ 
and  I  zvill  not  permit  it''  He  now  shook  hands  with 
me,  and  we  parted  better  friends  that  ever. 

Gradually,  as  the  calls  at  the  British  palace  became 
so  frequent,  and  Mr.  Dwight  could  reply  to  particular 
inquiries  so  much  better  than  I,  I  introduced  him  to 
Sir  Stratford,  and  he  became  the  go-between.  Still, 
for  a  whole  year,  I  did  no  direct  missionary  work,  ex- 
cept fighting  in  the  ranks  of  the  Armenian  missionaries 
against  the  heavy  storm. 

The  personal  sacrifices  we  all  made,  in  giving  from 
our  savings  to  the  persecuted,  were,  of  course,  many. 
That  year  I  had  bought  less  coal  than  ever,  it  being  so 
dear.  However,  we  gave  away  coal  to  these  distressed, 
cast-out  wanderers,  who,  in  their  trouble,  stayed  over  in 
Pera. 

The  straits  of  the  missionaries  were  great,  in  view  of 
the  many  families  thrown  into  the  streets,  and  heads 
of  families  turned  out  of  their  shops  and  stores,  where 
they  used  to  gain  a  livelihood.  An  appeal  was  made 
to  the  English  residents  here,  (for  the  mission  had  no 
means,  and  the  missionaries  had  no  right  to  advance 
money  for  the  support  of  these  starving  families,)  which 
at  once  brought  $400.  We  had,  however,  advanced 
money  to  that  amount  upon  our  private  responsibili- 
ties, being  bound  to  account  for  it  individually.  By 
the  avails  of  our  appeal,  we  were  brought  out  of  our 


Relief. 


191 


first  distress.  We  had  to  make  an  appeal  abroad,  for 
the  pressure  continued  long.  We  had  charities  sent  us 
from  America,  England,  Norway,  the  East  Indies,  and  i 

from  my  little  country,  Wiirtemberg.     And  several  ap-  ^ 

peals,  made  in  successive  years,  to  the  English  residents 
here,  always  resulted  in  liberal  help.  All  those  who 
helped  us  from  abroad  sent  charity  once  each,  except 
W^iirtemberg,  which  kept  sending  tmasked,  from  time  \ 

to  time,   '^  for  the  persecuted  Armenians,"  till   (I  am  \ 

persuaded)  their  charities  equaled  all  the  foreign  gifts  j 

together,  and  I  was  obliged  to  tell  them  to  send  no  ] 

more,  because  the  persecution  by  the  Patriarch  had 
ceased. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

SCOTCH    MISSION   ESTABLISHED— MORE    MISSIONARIES 
— JEWISH   WORK  ABANDONED. 

I  WILL  endeavor,  if  practicable,  to  compress  the  re- 
.  mainder  of  the  Jewish  mission  and  its  end  into  one 
section.  When  light  had  already  shone  upon  the  work 
among  the  German  Jews,  that  work  had  to  be  abandon- 
ed to  other  and  certainly  less  successful  hands,  what- 
ever their  devotion  to  the  good  cause,  and  their  per- 
sonal abilities  may  have  been. 

We  arrived  at  Constantinople,  on  our  return  from 
Vienna,  in  July,  1842,  and  took  a  house  in  Pera.  The 
following  summer  we  spent  at  a  house  in  Bebek.  But 
such  was  the  opposition  of  the  government  to  the  resi- 
dence of  Europeans  in  Bebek,  that  we  had  to  bring  our 
few  articles  of  furniture  very  stealthily  over  the  hills. 

Meantime,  Mr.  Schwartz  had  been  laboring  in  Pera 
and  Galata  among  the  Jews,  (German  only,)  and  I  let 
him  preach  once  a  fortnight  in  German  in  our  Amer- 
ican Chapel  at  Pera,  where  I  commenced  service  again 
as  soon  as  I  returned.  Mr.  Schwartz  was  then  in  the 
employ  of  the  London  Jews'  Society. 

The  work  was  not  without  a  blessing,  and  good  was 

manifestly  coming,  when    the  mania  for   a  Jerusalem 

diocese,  and  a  Bishop  for  that  new  see,  seized  the  minds 

of  the   English   brethren.     They  did  not  stop  to  con- 

(192) 


Scotch  Mission  Established.  193 

sider,  that  this  see  was  already  occupied  by  a  successor 
of  the  apostle,  yea,  by  several,  and  that  from  the  earliest 
days  of  the  Christian  Church,  there  had  always  been 
Bishops,  even  Patriarchs,  at  Jerusalem,  of  the  most  un- 
doubted apostolic  claims  (!),  and  that  their  new  bishopric 
was,  therefoie,  entirely  irregular.  They  rushed  most 
uncanonically  into  the  enterprise,  backed  by  the  King 
of  Prussia,  whose  pious  zeal  consented  to  an  arrange- 
ment of  alternate  appointment  of  the  Bishop  by  Eng- 
land and  Prussia,  an  arrangement  as  singular  and  incon- 
sistent as  it  was  novel.  In  this  the  Committee  of  the 
London  Jews'  Society  felt  they  were  called  upon  to 
take  a  prominent  part.  English  criticisms  upon  apoca- 
lyptic passages  led  them  to  suppose  that  the  dawn  of 
the  millennium  could  now  be  clearly  seen.  The  sun  of 
that  glorious  day  was  on  the  very  point  of  rising.  Out 
of  Zion  the  law  was  now  to  go  forth,  and  the  word  of 
the  Lord  from  Jerusalem.  All  their  Jewish  mission- 
aries were,  therefore,  to  be  gathered  together  into 
Palestine,  to  labor  under  the  newly-enthroned  ^;z^/2V<^;2 
Bishop  Alexander  (himself  a  Jewish  proselyte).  Their 
labors  were  all  to  go  forth  from  Zion,  the  conversion  of 
the  Jews  was  now  surely  coming,  and  these  were  to  be 
the  efificient  missionaries  to  the  Gentiles,  doing  what 
Gentile  missionaries  had  so  foolishly  attempted,  and 
the  Lord  Jesus  was  then  to  come  and  set  up  His  visible 
reign  on  earth,  with  His  royal  residence  in  Jerusalem. 
The  enthusiasm  was  great,  destined  to  sink  into  silent 
ashes  as  rapidly  as  it  had  blazed  up.  Schwartz  was 
peremptorily  ordered  to  proceed  at  once  to  Palestine, 
even  to  Hebron.  Notwithstanding  his  remonstrance, 
9 


194  Autobiography. 

that  the  state  of  his  eyes  would  not  permit  him  to  go 
to  Palestine,  but  that  he  was  ready  to  go  anywhere 
farther  north,  and  notwithstanding  a  letter  I  wrote  to 
the  Committee  of  this  London  Jews'  Society,  begging 
them  not  to  take  him  away  from  the  good  work  just 
now  developing,  they  maintained  their  decision,  taking 
no  notice  whatever  of  my  letter,  and,  in  consequence, 
Mr.  Schwartz  left  for  Pesth. 

The  winter  following,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Stewart,  from 
Scotland,  and  Mr.  Allan,  from  Pesth,  came  through  on 
their  way  to  Damascus,  where  Mr.  Allan  was  going  to 
be  settled.  Mr.  Allan  had  married  the  daughter  of 
Mrs.  Duncan.  Mr.  Stewart  asked  me  how  we  would 
receive  Scotch  missionaries  at  Constantinople,  if  they 
should  send  any  for  the  Jews.  I  said,  ''  So  !  "  spread- 
ing out  my  arms.  That  same  winter  a  Prussian 
Chaplain  arrived.  Rev.  Mr.  Major,  and  took  from  my 
shoulders  the  work  among  the  Germans.  The  Scotch 
mission  was  established,  and  they  having  no  missionary 
ready  to  take  charge  of  the  station,  I  was  requested  to 
organize  it,  which  I  did.  The  Free  Church  Covenanters 
were  then  well  off  as  to  funds,  and  they  permitted  me 
to  open  a  laboring  institution  for  Jewish  inquirers,  of 
whom  we  had  a  number  on  hand  from  Mr.  Schwartz's 
time. 

I  will  not  enter  into  a  detailed  account  of  this  in- 
stitution, upon  which  I  bestowed  much  pains,  and  not 
in  vain.  The  young  men  were  almost  all  boot-blacks 
from  the  Galata  streets.  I  organized,  also,  a  dispensary. 
I  had  baptized,  in  the  summer  of  1844,  Dr.  Leitner,  who 
died  here  many  years  after,   a  sincere  and   heavenly- 


Scotch  Mission  Established.  195 

minded  Christian.  The  institution  was  estabb'shed 
during  the  winter  of  1844-45,  and  several  were  hope- 
fully converted,  who  form  to  this  day  (1868)  the  bone 
and  substance  of  their  mission  church.  The  dispen- 
sary, with  Dr.  Leitner  in  charge,  having  three  different 
points,  where  sick  persons  received  advice  and  medicine, 
did  much  good  among  the  "  Sefardee "  as  well  as  the 
"Ashkenazee"  Jews.* 

During  the  summer  of  1844,  we  lived  in  Bebek ; 
mother  was  very  ill.  But  having  efficient  and  reliable 
help  in  the  house,  I  could  spend  half  of  the  week,  night 
and  day,  at  Pera,  the  institution  needing  my  presence. 
Alfred,  born  April  19,  1843,  was  then  a  babe. 

After  our  return  to  the  city  house,  things  went  bet- 
ter. Mother  had  entirely  recovered  from  her  illness, 
and  I  could  give  myself  to  my  work.  Daily  I  rose  when 
it  was  still  dark,  to  go  to  the  institution,  for  the  morn- 
ing Bible  exercise  and  prayers.  Often  I  found  some 
of  them  asleep,  and  no  fire  in  the  stove;  but  instead 
of  scolding,  I  quietly  made  the  fire,  while  they  were 
scrambling  out  of  bed,  and  thus  I  shamed  them  out  of 
their  lazy  habits  ;  and  when  it  pleased  God  to  visit  the 
institution  by  His  Spirit,  these  outward  things  came 
right  without  any  especial  pressure  or  remonstrance. 

During  the  summer  of  1844,  the  Prussian  Chaplain  fell 
out  with  the  Ambassador,  Mons.  Le  Coq,  and  when  the 
Ambassador  returned  to  Pera  in  the  fall,  the  service  in 
the  chapel  was  suspended.    I,  therefore,  opened  my  Ger- 


*  The  Spanish  Jews  are   known   as  "  Sefardee,"  while  the 
Polish,  Russian,  and  other  Jews  are  called  "  Ashkenazee." 


196  Autobiography. 

man  service  again  at  9  o'clock  A.M.,  in  the  same  chapel 
in  which  our  English  service  was  held  at  11  o'clock 
A.M.,  and  Armenian  service  afterwards.  I  had  labored 
to  keep  the  peace  between  the  Ambassador  and  the 
Chaplain,  as  both  were  pious  men,  but  in  vain.  Each 
wanted  me  to  side  with  him,  but  as  both  were  in  fault, 
in  my  judgment,  I  kept  aloof  from  the  difificulty.  Of 
course,  the  Chaplain  was  recalled,  and  my  German 
service  continued.  With  Mons.  Le  Coq  we  used  to  be 
on  intimate  terms.  His  wife,  who  died  just  before  the 
Chaplain  arrived,  was  an  excellent  Christian  person. 
An  old  aunt  in  the  family  seemed,  also,  to  love  Christ. 

In  1845,  Mr.  Allan  came  back  from  Damascus  to 
settle  here,  and  I  was  relieved  from  my  responsibility, 
though  I  naturally  came  to  Mr.  Allan's  help,  who  was 
not  yet  quite  fluent  in  the  use  of  the  German  language. 

When  Mr.  Allan  arrived,  it  was  obvious  that  he  could 
have  no  mission  unless  he  had  a  German  service,  and 
that  he  could  have  no  German  service  if  I  had  one. 
Timidly  he  asked  me  what  I  should  do  if  he  opened  a 
German  service  at  Galata.  My  impression  had  been 
before,  that  the  German  service  must  go  over  to  the 
Scotch,  if  they  were  to  have  a  mission  here  at  all.  I, 
therefore,  replied,  that  I  should  give  him  my  service, 
and  if  he  wished  me,  would  help  him  preach.  For  this 
offer  he  seemed  to  be  deeply  grateful.  Thus  the  Scotch 
mission  was  established  upon  a  good  working  basis.  I 
had,  of  course,  to  come  to  Mr.  Allan's  help.  He 
opened  his  work  in  Galata,  and  had  two  services.  The 
afternoon  service  I  regularly  took.  Mr.  Allan  came 
alone  to  take  care  of  the  whole  station.     No  mission- 


More  Missionaries.  197 

ary  was  sent  to  superintend  the  institution.  This 
did  not  become  self-supporting  at  once,  as  had  been 
perhaps  expected.  The  funds  of  the  committee  were 
low,  and  the  home  wants  of  the  "  Free  Church  of 
Scotland,"  at  that  time,  were  naturally  very  great,  for, 
on  the  disruption  of  the  Kirk,  the  Free  Church  was  left 
without  any  Church  property,  and  some  congregations 
worshiped  in  the  open  air.  Thus,  the  good  work  be- 
gun was  checked,  and  the  mission  began  to  drag. 

The  Committee  in  Edinburgh,  in  thanking  me  for 
my  services  of  a  year's  duration,  which  year  they  have 
since  repeatedly  called  t/ie  flozver  of  their  mission  in 
Turkey,  sent  me  a  present  of  ;^  100.  A  part  of  this, 
say  $400,  deposited  by  our  Treasurer  in  Boston,  in- 
creased to  something  over  $500,  and  became  the 
means,  as  I  expect  hereafter  to  state,  of  our  buying  the 
house  we  own  ;  and  by  saving  house-rent  thus,  since 
1849,  I  was  enabled  to  do  for  my  children's  education 
and  the  needful  comforts  of  my  family,  what  would 
otherwise  have  been  impossible  for  me. 

I  had,  thus  far,  requested  from  time  to  time  to  be  re- 
inforced, and  was  always  told  that  there  were  no  men 
fit  and  willing  to  go  to  the  Jews.  The  German  Jews 
were  now  under  the  care  of  the  Scotch  missionaries, 
and  I  was  still  hoping  to  see  something  efficient  done 
for  the  Sefardee  Jews  of  Constantinople  and  of  Tur- 
key ;  but  when  Mr.  (now  Dr.)  A.  Thomson  came,  and 
there  was  no  more  doubt  of  the  readiness  and  inten- 
tion of  our  Scotch  brethren  to  occupy  the  Sefardee 
field  also,  I  saw  that  Constantinople  was  lost  to  us.  I, 
therefore,  wrote  to    Dr.  Anderson,   saying    that   I  no 


198  Autobiography. 

longer  needed  reinforcements,  as  Constantineple  was 
fully  occupied,  or  shortly  would  be,  and  that  if  the 
Board  still  wanted  a  mission,  they  might  contemplate 
occupying  Salonica  or  Smyrna,  or  both.  In  reply,  I  re- 
ceived orders  to  go  to  Salonica,  to  make  the  prelimina- 
ry inquiries,  survey  the  place,  and  report.  Two  months 
after  the  date  of  the  letter  I  was  in  Salonica  ;  I  made  the 
most  accurate  inquiries  as  to  the  health  of  the  city,  and 
all  the  particulars  of  a  practical  character,  and  reported. 

I  had  previously  sent  Baron  Bedros  to  Salonica,  to 
labor  there  among  the  Jews.  A  number  of  them  called 
to  see  me.  This  was  in  the  summer  of  1 848.  In  March, 
1849,  Messrs.  Dodd  and  Maynard  and  their  wives,  ar- 
rived in  Smyrna.  Two  men  were  now  on  the  ground, 
and  two  more  afterwards  joined  them.  Mr.  Dodd  told 
me  he  had  kept  himself  for  some  time  in  readiness  to  go 
anywhere^  but  on  account  of  his  constitution,  had  been 
thinking  rather  of  Africa.  But  when  he  was  told  there 
were  missionaries  needed  for  the  Jewish  field,  he  at 
once  consented  to  go,  and  would  have  been  happy  to 
spend  and  be  spent  for  the  poor  Jews,  had  not  that 
mission  afterwards  been  abandoned. 

The  spring  was  not  a  favorable  season  for  taking 
new-comers  to  Salonica,  and  the  Constantinople  station 
invited  these  brethren  to  come  to  this  point  and  tarry 
for  a  while,  devoting  themselves  to  the  study  of  the 
language. 

They  accordingly  came  up  from  Smyrna,  and  made 
us  a  short  visit,  long  enough,  however,  completely  to 
win  all  our  hearts,  for  they  were  of  a  most  lovely  and 
consecrated  spirit. 


More  Missionaries.  199 

Naturally  enough,  Messrs.  Dodd  and  Maynard  were 
impatient  of  delay  and  anxious  to  reach  their  ultimate 
destination.  The  station,  therefore,  advised  me  to  ac- 
company them  to  Salonica  at  once,  which  I  did  cheer- 
fully, though  somewhat  against  my  own  conviction  of 
what  was  wise.  It  is  needless  to  detail  the  difficulties 
we  encountered  in  securing  a  suitable  house,  and  in 
having  it  cleared  of  vermin  and  otherwise  cleaned.  I 
remained  with  the  brethren  for  two  full  months,  help- 
ing them  to  get  settled  and  somewhat  acquainted. 
During  this  time  I  had  considerable  intercourse  with 
the  Jews,  and  paved  the  way,  so  far  as  I  could,  for 
nearer  access  to  them  on  the  part  of  our  missionaries. 

The  chief  missionary  interest  connected  with  this 
visit  to  Salonica,  was  the  acquaintance  I  made  with 
Selim  Agha,  (a  Turk,  afterwards  baptized  as  Edward 
Williams,)  who  anticipated  my  call  by  calling  upon  me. 
I  will  not  repeat  the  interesting  story,  but  turn  to  my 
voyage  to  Constantinople.  Going  on  board  the  steamer, 
I  found  it  a  miserable,  small  craft,  old  and  wretched. 
The  captain,  an  old  Italian  tar,  confessed  to  me  that 
the  vessel  was  too  small  for  trips  between  Constanti- 
nople and  Salonica,  that  she  had  been  for  six  months 
unseaworthy,  and  that  it  was  only  at  the  urgent  solici- 
tation of  the  Lloyd  Company  that  he  ran  her  this  once 
more,  and  definitely  for  the  last  time.  Had  it  been 
decent  weather,  I  should  not  have  thought  of  all  this, 
but  it  was  far  otherwise.  Messrs.  Dodd  and  Maynard 
accompanied  me  on  board,  but  hastened  back,  for  a 
heavy  squall  was  coming  up  the  bay  when  we  heaved 
anchor.     We  went  right  into  it. 


200  Autobiography. 

We  toiled  along  the  shore  of  the  long  gulf,  laboring 
hard,  and  our  captain  looked  uneasy.  Before  we  pass- 
ed out  he  said  to  me  :  "  If  I  knew  it  was  worse  outside, 
where  we  must  either  sink  or  swim,  I  should  cast  anchor 
here."  "  Well,  come  to  anchor  then,"  I  said,  "  for  it  is 
probably  worse  outside."  He  answered,  "  With  this 
wind,  if  it  does  not  become  stronger,  I  cannot."  A  few 
minutes  after,  he  turned  to  me  and  said :  "  You  are  a 
passenger ;  if  you  can  tell  me  that  you  have  reasoq  to 
believe  that  this  wind  is  worse  outside,  I  can  stop."  I 
replied,  "  Captain,  if  I  told  you  I  knew  anything  about 
this  wind,  I  should  tell  a  lie ;  I  know  nothing  of  it." 
"  Then,  I  must  hold  the  sea,  by  the  law  ;  it  will  natural- 
ly be  a  little  worse  outside,  but  not  much,  and  we  shall 
have  a  chance  to  ride  it  out."     We  kept  the  sea. 

Instead  of  passing  Monte  Santo  (Mt.  Athos)  late  in 
the  evening,  we  toiled  slowly  along  the  gulf  of  Cassandra, 
and  the  gulf  of  Monte  Santo,  and  were  tossed  up  and 
down  all  night  in  the  face  of  that  terrible  mountain.  It 
was  pitch  dark,  the  rain  pouring,  no  light,  and  Monte 
Santo  on  our  left,  like  a  grand  mass  of  solid  darkness, 
ready  to  swallow  us  up.  Our  little  steamer  was  so  frail 
that,  as  I  sat  in  the  cabin,  the  seams  of  the  cabinet- 
maker's work  opened  and  shut  very  perceptibly,  as  the 
steamer  rolled  and  pitched.  One  sea  shipped  would  have 
broken  us  in  two,  and  sent  us  all  down,  as  fast  as  the 
weight  of  iron  could  have  carried  us.  My  hope  of  see- 
ing wife  or  children  was  indeed  small,  and  I  commended 
them  and  myself  to  our  covenant-keeping  God.  But  it 
pleased  God  to  preserve  us,  and  as  the  morning  dawned 
Monte  Santo  dropped  behind  us,  slowly  unclenching  his 


Jewish  Work  Abandoned.  201 

grasp.  Our  captain,  still  not  quite  confident  of  his  ves- 
sel, notwithstanding  the  promising  aspect  of  the  weather, 
instead  of  steering  direct  for  the  Dardanelles,  made  for 
the  Isle  of  Imbros.  However,  the  weather  kept  im- 
proving, and  the  wind  began  to  calm  down,  and  when 
we  had  reached  Imbros,  we  turned  the  helm,  and  kept 
on,  steering  for  the  Dardanelles  ;  still  our  situation  was 
uncomfortably  problematic  in  that  broken  shell,  till  we 
reached  Constantinople  harbor. 

We  lost  twenty-four  hours  by  this  gale,  and  instead 
of  reaching  here  Saturday  morning,  we  arrived  at  a  late 
hour  on  Sunday  morning. 

During  the  summer  of  this  year,  an  acquaintance  of 
Mr.  Maynard,  a  young  theologian,  visited  us,  and  Mr. 
Maynard  invited  him  to  come  down  to  Salonica  to  take 
a  tour  with  him  to  Mount  Olympus  and  the  classic  Vale 
of  Tempe,  as  he  himself  had  been  studying  hard,  and 
would  like  a  vacation.  This  was  done  without  a  knowl- 
edge of  time  or  locality,  without  consultation  with  any- 
body who  knew  better,  at  a  season  when  a  visit  to  the 
Vale  of  Tempe  was  very  venturesome,  to  say  the  least. 
They  went  and  they  returned ;  the  traveler  left  for 
Athens ;  but  both  the  travelers,  as  well  as  their  Arme- 
nian servant,  were  taken  with  pernicious  malarial  fever, 
and  Mr.  Maynard  died  at  Salonica,  and  his  friend,  at 
Athens,  on  the  same  day. 

In  place  of  Mr.  Maynard,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parsons  were 
sent  out,  They  were  followed  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mor- 
gan. The  mission  being  now  a  separate  one,  we  had 
our  annual  meeting  at  Salonica,  early  in  the  summer  of 
1852.     The  annual  meeting  of  the  Armenian  mission 

9* 


202  Autobiography. 

had  been  held  at  Smyrna,  in  March ;  I  attended  this 
also.  This  first  annual  meeting  of  the  Jewish  mission 
was  also  its  last. 

The  three  mission  families  moved  to  the  country  as 
soon  as  I  had  left,  lived  on  watermelons  and  milk,  and 
slept  with  open  windows  ;  the  gentlemen  went  to  and 
from  the  city  in  the  noonday  heat,  and,  of  course,  they 
had  the  intermittent  fever  soon  enough.  Mrs.  Morgan 
was  severely  attacked  with  a  pernicious  form  of  fever, 
and  soon  died.  Mr.  Morgan  was  reduced  very  low  ;  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Parsons  both  became  quite  ill,  and  he  for 
some  time  lay  on  the  borders  of  the  grave.  Soon  they 
had  to  leave  Salonica.  The  Parsons  family  and  Mr. 
Morgan  came  up  to  Constantinople ;  the  Dodds  went 
to  America  for  their  health. 

During  the  year  that  Mr.  Morgan  spent  in  our  house, 
he  renewed  his  acquaintance  with  Mrs.  Sutphen,  whose 
husband  had  died  soon  after  his  arrival  on  missionary 
ground,  and  this  resulted  in  their  marriage.  Mrs.  Sut- 
phen was  a  most  lovely  woman,  the  daughter  of  an  old 
acquaintance  of  mine,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kellogg,  with  whom 
I  made  an  evangelistic  tour  to  Utica,  in  1827. 

Then  the  two  mission  families  went  to  Smyrna, 
which,  at  that  time,  was  an  unoccupied  station.  Mr. 
Rosenberg  was  taken  into  the  service  of  the  Board,  and 
a  school  was  opened. 

Mr.  Morgan  subsequently  returned  to  Salonica,  and 
took  Rosenberg  with  him,  though  Mr.  Parsons  would 
gladly  have  kept  him  for  his  school  for  Jewish  boys. 
This  was  in  1854,  if  I  remember  right,  early  in  the  year. 
At  both  of  these  stations  things  seemed  to  grow  bright- 


Jewispi  Work  Abandoned.  203 

er.  Mr.  Morgan,  in  his  letters  to  us,  reported  a  better 
state  of  feeling,  and  greater  access  to  the  Jews  than  ever 
before  ;  and  Mr.  Parsons's  school  was  visited  and  blessed 
with  higher  influences,  so  that  one  or  more  boys  appear- 
ed either  converted  to  Christ  or  very  near  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  ;  and  Mrs.  Riggs  observed  that  now,  for  the 
first  time,  there  was  truly  spiritual  work  among  the 
Jews  in  Smyrna.  The  letters  of  Mr.  Morgan  and  Mr. 
Parsons  cheered  us  very  much,  and  raised  our  hope  of 
seeing  better  days  coming  to  the  work. 

Their  letters,  up  to  the  time  of  the  annual  meeting 
of  1855,  entitled  mother  and  myself  to  the  growing 
hope,  that  a  better  day  was  actually  dawning  upon  the 
Jewish  mission,  and  we  looked  with  interest  to  the  pro- 
posals with  which  these  two  missionaries  would  come 
up  *'to  the  feast."  The  Morgans  took  their  lodgings 
with  us,  for  they  considered  themselves  almost  as  our 
children.  We  several  times  introduced  to  the  two 
missionaries  the  subject  of  our  mission,  and  could  not 
help  noticing  the  indifference  with  which  they  received 
it.  When  Mr.  Parsons  read  before  the  mission  the  re- 
port of  the  Jewish  Department,  mother  and  myself 
were  surprised  at  its  meagreness.  We  could  have 
framed  a  far  brighter  report  by  extracts  from  their  let- 
ters. I  will  not  follow  up  the  story  in  its  details.  The 
result  was  that  Mr.  Morgan,  at  one  of  the  meetings, 
read  a  paper  to  the  mission,  which  virtually  proposed 
their  transfer  to  the  Armenian  mission.  Confounded, 
I  asked  whether  Mr.  Parsons  agreed  with  these  senti- 
ments, to  which  he  nodded  assent.  Discussion  ensued. 
During  two  days  the  subject  was  discussed,  not  ex- 


204  Autobiography. 

clusively,  but  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  on  the  thir  J 
day,  (I  being  absent,  because  that  year  I  was  not  a  dele- 
gate, and  was  not  very  well,)  Mr.  Dwight  proposed,  that 
these  two  brethren  be  transferred  to  the  Armeitianims- 
sion,  and  that  "we  (the  mission)  recommend  to  the 
Board  to  relinquish  the  Jewish  mission  to  the  Scotch 
Free  Church,  which  takes  so  great  an  interest  in  the 
work." 

The  Annual  Meeting  closed,  and  we  were  at  last  left 
to  our  sad  and  solitary  reflections  on  our  possible  future. 
Mr.  Goodell  cordially  invited  me,  also,  to  come  over 
into  the  Armenian  field  ;  but  I  felt  no  call  that  way, 
and  declined.  Dr.  Anderson  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thom- 
son, of  Roxbury,  were  then  on  a  Committee  visit  to 
India,  and  they  were  to  pass  here  and  look  after  our 
doings,  and  it  was  manifest  that  the  matter  of  the 
Jewish  mission  would  then  come  up,  and  probably  be 
decided. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

A    VISIT    TO    PARIS,   AND    ITS     RESULTS-^  BEGINNING 
THE   TURKISH   WORK. 

SHORTLY  after  the  events  of  the  last  chapter,  I 
was  appointed  as  a  delegate  to  represent  the 
American  Missions  in  Turkey,  at  the  meeting  of  the 
World's  Evangelical  Alliance,  to  be  held  in  Paris, 
August  22,  1855.  It  seemed  especially  important  that 
we  should  be  represented  at  that  meeting,  (we  had 
never  sent  a  delegate  before,)  and  that  the  great  ques- 
tion of  religious  liberty  in  Turkey,  including  the  right 
of  Mohammedans  to  become  Christians,  should  be 
brought  before  that  body. 

Mr.  Edward  Williams,  the  converted  Turk,  formerly 
called  Selim  Agha,  whose  first  visit  to  me  in  Salonica 
I  have  already  spoken  of,  and  who  afterwards  fled  to 
Malta  with  his  family,  where  they  were  all  baptized, 
had  now  returned  to  Constantinople,  and  lived  here 
unmolested.  So  great  already  was  the  influence  for 
good  of  the  Crimean  war !  There  were  movements 
among  the  Mohammedans  which  showed  us  that  the 
moment  religious  liberty  was  assured,  inquirers  from 
among  the  ranks  of  the  False  Prophet  would  appear. 
In  view  of  this,  our  Constantinople  station,  at  one  of 
its  meetings,  had  nobly  resolved  that  it  was  our  duty 
to  receive  and  baptize  every  sincere  believer  in  Christ, 

(205) 


2o6  Autobiography. 

whatever  the  consequences  to  us  might  be,  and  that 
the  first  Mohammedan  man  or  woman  whom  we  be- 
lieved to  be  truly  converted  should  be  baptized. 
Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  deemed  of  great 
importance  that  we  should  lay  before  the  Evangelical 
Alliance  the  situation  of  things  in  Turkey,  and  ask 
for  counsel  and  support,  and  for  this  purpose  I  was 
delegated. 

My  journey  to  Paris,  accompanied  by  Edward,  was 
uneventful.  We  found  that  great  city  so  thronged 
with  visitors,  that  it  was  with  difficulty  we  secured  a 
night's  lodging.  This  was  not  due  to  the  meeting 
of  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  but  to  the  fact  that  the 
World's  Exposition  was  then  in  progress,  and  that  the 
Queen  of  England  was  on  a  visit  to  her  Imperial  broth- 
er, Napoleon  III.,  whom  she  probably  hated  worse  than 
the  plague. 

I  will  not  attempt  to  speak  of  the  sights  to  be  seen 
in  Paris  at  this  period  of  special  gaiety  and  magnifi- 
cence,— none  of  which  we  saw  till  after  our  meetings 
were  over, — nor  even  of  the  meetings  of  the  Alliance 
itself,  full  as  they  were  of  interest,  but  will  only  insert 
an  extract  from  the  report  made  by  me  after  my  return, 
concerning  my  special  mission  there. 

"  Inasmuch  as  the  French  brethren  in  whose  churches 
our  meetings  were  held,  had  decidedly  objected  to  pub- 
lic discussions,  and  the  adoption  of  resolutions,  and  had 
pledged  the  Alliance  to  abstain  from  such  action,  it 
seemed,  at  first,  as  if  it  would  be  impossible  to  bring 
our  matters  before  the  Alliance.  These  rules,  however, 
proved  so  irksome  to  the  English-speaking  delegates, 


A  Visit  to  Paris,  and  its  Results.      207 

and  so  calculated  to  cripple  the  usefulness  of  this  great 
gathering,  that  they  organized  an  English-speaking  con- 
ference, which  met  during  recess,  and  was  no  ofificial 
part  of  the  Alliance,  and  which  hoped  so  to  agree  upon 
and  formulate  certain  recommendations  and  declara- 
tions of  principle,  that  they  might  be  adopted  by  the 
Alliance  without  discussion. 

"  This  plan  was  approved  by  Rev.  Frederic  Monod, 
and  others  of  our  French  brethren,  as  fulfilling  the  spirit 
of  our  agreement,  and  avoiding  the  danger  of  unwise  pub- 
lic utterances,  which  might  give  offence  to  the  French 
Government,  and  so  injure  the  Protestant  churches  in 
France. 

'^  Before  this  English-speaking  conference  the  ques- 
tion of  religious  liberty  in  Turkey  was  presented,  and 
after  much  discussion,  it  was  agreed  to  recommend  to  the 
Alliance  to  memorialize  the  Sultan  of  Turkey,  boldly 
asking  for  full  religious  liberty  throughout  his  domain, 
and  also  to  memorialize  the  Queen  of  England,  the 
Emperors  of  France  and  Austria,  the  Kings  of  Prussia, 
Holland,  Sweden,  and  Sardinia,  and  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  asking  them  to  urge  this  step  upon 
the  Sultan  and  his  government. 

"This  was  not  carried  in  the  English-speaking  con- 
ference without  strong  opposition,  at  first,  on  the  part 
of  some  of  the  French  brethren,  and  some  from  other 
countries,  who  feared  especially  that  such  action  would 
give  offence  to  the  Emperor  Napoleon,  and  do  harm  in 
France.  Finally,  however,  it  was  adopted  in  Commit- 
tee, and  presented  to  the  Alliance  for  adoption,  on  the 
morning  of  Sept.  ist,  the  last  day  of  the  meeting.    But 


2o8  Autobiography. 

even  then  one  of  the  Paris  brethren  opposed  it,  raising 
the  same  objections  that  had  been  answered  time  and 
again. 

*'  After  attempting  several  times  to  speak  without  ob- 
taining the  floor,  I  gave  up  and  sat  down.  But  a  mem- 
ber of  our  committee,  anxious  that  I  should  be  heard, 
rose,  and  remarked  that  I  had  come  from  Turkey  to 
Paris  for  the  single  purpose  of  bringing  this  subject 
before  the  Evangelical  Alliance,  and  yet  I  was  the  only 
one  who  had  never  been  heard  on  the  subject.  He 
hoped  the  question  would  not  be  proposed  to  the  Al- 
liance until  I  had  spoken.  After  another  interrup- 
tion, I  obtained  a  hearing. 

"  I  stated  that,  considering  present  circumstances, 
and  the  changes  going  on  in  Turkey,  the  probability 
was,  that  we  should  soon  see  a  general  awakening,  and 
a  search  after  that  word  of  truth  which  is  now  going 
abroad,  and  is  being  read  in  so  many  languages  in  Tur- 
key, and  that  it  would  soon  be  impossible  for  conscien- 
tious ministers  and  missionaries  to  refuse  baptism  to 
truly  converted  Mohammedans.  I  told  them,  that  we 
had  considered  the  meeting  of  the  Alliance  a  providen- 
tially-afforded opportunity  to  forward  the  cause  of  re- 
ligious liberty  in  Turkey,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for 
those  who  might  come  to  a  knowledge  of  Christ,  to 
profess  His  name  without  danger  of  being  executed  ; 
that  we  conceived  that  God  might  make  the  Alliance 
an  instrument  for  bringing  about  this  desirable  state  of 
things  in  Turkey;  and  that,  therefore,  we  had  felt 
bound  to  improve  the  opportunity,  and  to  lay  before 
them  the  subject  now  in  hand.     But,  I  added,  I  was 


A  Visit  to  Paris,  and  its  Results.      209 

sorry  that  the  subject  had  so  much  embarrassed  some 
of  the  brethren,  especially  in  France.  I  assuicd  them, 
that  it  had  never  been  our  intention  to  hide  ourselves 
from  persecution  behind  the  back  of  any  Conference, 
Alliance,  Emperor,  King,  or  Queen,  and  that  we  hoped 
to  do  our  duty  under  any  circumstances.  If,  therefore, 
I  concluded,  the  brethren  in  France  felt  themselves 
endangered  by  the  measure,  or  if  it  was  considered  out 
of  time,  or  in  any  way  inappropriate  or  unsuitable,  I 
should,  for  my  part,  be  in  favor  of  dismissing  the  sub- 
ject at  once.  I  should  go  back  to  Turkey,  we  should 
act  as  duty  to  Christ  might  require,  and  if  we  must  suf- 
fer persecution  in  consequence,  it  would  not  be  a  new 
thing  to  us.  He  who  had  delivered  us  from  persecu- 
tions in  time  past,  could,  and  I  trusted  would,  do  so 
again. 

"  The  only  remaining  objector  then  arose,  and  said  to 
the  chairman  (Sir  Culling  Eardly) :  'Mr.  Chairman,  all 
my  objections  are  removed.  Let  the  matter  go  for- 
ward.* A  thundering  applause  followed  the  declara- 
tion. The  chairman  then  put  the  question,  and  it  was 
adopted  by  acclamation.  When  the  case  was  decided, 
every  countenance  betrayed  lively  satisfaction. 

"  Thus  I  have  endeavored  to  discharge  my  duty  as 
delegate  to  this  branch  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance.  It 
has  been  done  very  imperfectly ;  still,  the  object  has 
been  accomplished  ;  and  if  it  should  please  God  to  smile 
upon  the  effort  there  made  for  perfect  religious  liberty 
in  Turkey,  future  generations  will  have  occasion  to  bless 
those  who  made  this  feeble  attempt." 

Leaving   Paris,  we   turned  our  faces  again  towards 


2IO  Autobiography. 

Stuttgart.  The  morning  of  our  departure  we  saw 
placarded  everywhere  on  walls  and  corners, "  Sevastopol 
est  prise  !  " 

During  the  whole  Crimean  war,  the  interest  of  the 
public  everywhere  was  quite  absorbed  in  that  extra- 
ordinary event.  When  we  first  visited  Stuttgart,  on 
our  way  to  Paris,  it  was  natural  that  I  should  be  ques- 
tioned on  the  subject,  and  before  I  was  aware  of  it,  a 
grand  meeting  was  arranged  in  the  "  Romische  Kaiser  " 
establishment.  The  house  was  crowded  to  its  utmost 
capacity.  Without  realizing  that  Princess  Olga,  daugh- 
ter of  Emperor  Nicholas,  was  the  wife  of  the  Crown 
Prince  of  Wiirtemberg,  I  stated  my  views  of  the  matter 
unhesitatingly.  I  not  only  told  them,  what  they,  of 
course,  knew  themselves,  viz.,  that  Russia  wanted  Con- 
stantinople and  European  Turkey,  but  I  also  stated  the 
fact,  that  after  the  Gospel  had  begun  to  get  among  the 
Greeks,  the  Greek  Patriarch  had  written  to  Russia,  (or 
requested  the  Russian  Embassy  here  to  do  it,)  saying 
that  if  the  American  missionaries  were  not  removed 
from  Turkey,  he  could  not  answer  for  the  consequences 
of  their  presence  upon  the  Greek  Church,  etc.  I  stated 
it  as  our  conviction,  that  one  chief  object  of  Emperor 
Nicholas  in  pressing  his  claims  of  interference  in  favor 
of  the  Christian  sects  just  at  that  time,  was,  to  procure 
the  exile  of  the  missionaries  from  Turkey,  and  that  if 
he  should  succeed  in  getting  the  influence  he  demand- 
ed, he  would  destroy  the  missions  in  Turkey,  just  as 
he  had  those  in  Russia,  and  the  acquired  Persian  prov- 
inces. 

Of  all  this  the  Russian  Princess  was  no  doubt  duly 


A  Visit  to  Paris,  and  its  Results.      211 

informed.  Rev.  Mr.  Kapff  had  expressed  similar  views 
once,  and  she  immediately  sent  for  him  to  deprecate 
such  remarks  as  reflecting  upon  the  character  of  her 
father  and  of  Russia. 

Now  when  we  returned  to  Stuttgart,  the  city  was  full 
of  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Sevastopol,  and  it  was  but 
a  day  or  so  after  our  arrival,  when  I  met  Mr.  Titoff 
(formerly  Russian  Ambassador  at  Constantinople)  in 
the  streets.  The  day  following  I  called  upon  him.  He 
then,  in  conversation,  told  me  that  Princess  Olga  and 
another  lady  of  high  rank,  had  sent  money  to  a  gentle- 
man at  Constantinople,  for  the  relief  of  the  Russian 
prisoners,  and  had  had  no  answer,  and  he  thought  she 
would  send  again  if  I  would  consent  to  receive  it,  and 
dispose  of  it  according  to  her  intentions.  I  told  him  I 
would  willingly  do  what  I  could,  that  I  had  seen  the 
Russian  prisoners  in  Kassim  Pasha  and  at  Scutari,  and 
would  put  the  bounty  in  the  way  of  reaching  those  for 
whom  it  might  be  intended,  and  make  report  of  the 
disposal  of  the  funds.  He  then  asked  me  whether  I 
could  not  call  to  see  her  Imperial  Highness,  as  she 
would  be  so  much  gratified  to  see  a  man  who  came 
from  Constantinople,  and  who  had  seen  Russian  prison- 
ers. Without  knowing  what  I  was  going  into,  I  con- 
sented, and  Mr.  Titoff  arranged  the  visit,  and  sent  me 
his  carriage. 

When  I  came  out  to  the  Imperial  villa  near  Stutt- 
gart, and  was  bowed  in,  I  found  the  Crown  Prince 
standing,  and  her  Imperial  Highness  sitting  in  an  arm- 
chair. After  making  the  usual  three  court-bows,  first 
to  him,  then  to  her,  conversation  immediately  began, 


212  Autobiography. 

and  I  stated  briefly  the  comfortable  condition  in  which 
I  had  found  the  Russian  prisoners,  and  the  satisfaction 
expressed  to  me  as  to  the  treatment  they  received ;  and 
also  what  I  had  heard  of  the  equally  noble  treatment  the 
English  prisoners  from  a  steamer  stranded  near  Odessa 
had  received  at  that  place ;  and  I  dwelt  for  a  moment 
on  the  alleviation  which  accompanied  the  horrors  of 
war  from  the  better  feelings  and  principles  which  the 
Christian  religion  enjoined  and  fostered.  When  the 
Prince  saw  that  it  was  worth  while  to  continue  the  con- 
versation, he  gave  the  Princess  a  hint,  and  she,  chang- 
ing her  seat  for  a  sofa,  gave  me  her  arm-chair,  and  he 
sat  opposite  to  me  in  a  common  chair. 

When  she  had  taken  her  seat,  she  took  up  her  para- 
ble, and  descanted  upon  "this  sad  war,"  about  as  fol- 
lows :  "  The  benevolent  intentions  of  Russia  relative  to 
Turkey  had  been  entirely  and  very  sadly  misunder- 
stood ;  it  was  perfectly  evident  that  it  must  be  an 
advantage  to  Russia  to  have  a  weak  neighbor  rather 
than  a  strong  one ;  and  Turkey  was  certainly  in  a  sink- 
ing state.  Now  Russia  wanted  to  raise  Turkey  by 
urging  upon  them  improvements,  and  thus  procuring  a 
proper  state  of  things  relative  to  the  Christian  sects  in 
the  land,  and  freedom  of  conscience  and  progress.  Her 
intentions  were  entirely  loyal  and  disinterested,  even 
against  her  own  interests.  But  England  and  France 
completely  misunderstood  the  benevolent  intentions  of 
Russia ;  passion  and  mistrust  blinded  their  eyes ;  there 
was  no  such  thing  as  making  them  understand,  and  the 
unfortunate  result  was  the  dreadful  bloodshed." 

While  I  sat  and  listened  to  her  statement,  I  endeav- 


A  Visit  to  Paris,  and  its  Results.      213 

ored  to  ascertain  whether  she  really  believed  the  story 
herself,  or  whether  she  wanted  to  put  me  in  an  em- 
barrassing position.  For  to  contradict  such  a  lady  was 
out  of  the  question.  To  the  Prince  I  might  have  sug- 
gested an  amendment  of  the  view  presented,  he  being 
a  man,  and  a  German.  But  to  a  lady  of  the  Russian 
Imperial  family,  whose  feelings  must  be  painfully  ten- 
der on  that  question,  no  hesitancy  to  accept  her  state- 
ments could  be  expressed  without  double  rudeness. 
But  I  could  not  silently  agree  to  her  views,  with- 
out a  degree  of  unmanly  inconsistency,  in  view  of  the 
remarks  I  had  made  publicly  but  a  few  weeks  before ; 
and  to  express  assent  was  altogether  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. The  Lord  gave  me  an  answer  which  was  neither 
discourteous  nor  inconsistent,  and  it  was  indeed  given 
me  at  the  moment,  for  I  had  not  thought  of  it  before. 
When  she  had  entirely  finished,  and  I  was  under  obli- 
gation to  make  some  reply,  or  silently  to  assent,  I 
said  in  substance,  ''War,  whatever  its  cause,  or  its  cir- 
cumstances, is  always  a  great  evil,  to  be  avoided  even  at 
the  highest  practicable  sacrifices,  and  to  be  deeply  re- 
gretted and  deplored.  And  it  is  positively  certain,  too, 
that  if  the  intentions  of  Russia  regarding  Turkey,  as 
your  Imperial  Highness  has  been  pleased  to  develop  them, 
now,  had  been  so  understood  by  England  and  France, 
no  war  could  possibly  have  resulted  from  them.  It 
may,  however,  now  be  a  consolation  to  Russia  to  see 
that  the  wishes  of  Russia  about  Turkey,  as  defined  by 
your  Highness,  are  now  being  in  course  of  accomplish- 
ment by  the  war  itself!'  She  dropped  back  into  her 
sofa  without  replying  a  word.     After  the  Princess  had 


214  Autobiography. 

asked  me  whether  I  would  receive  charity  for  Russian 
prisoners,  and  convey  it  to  them,  if  she  should  send 
any,  and  I  had  expressed  my  entire  willingness  to  do 
anything  I  could  for  them,  I  made  my  bows,  and  re- 
tired. 

From  Stuttgart  we  went  to  Vienna,  and  thence  by 
train  to  Trieste,  passing  through  the  famous  Adels- 
berg  district,  where  we  stayed  over  night,  and  visited 
a  somewhat  celebrated  cavern  filled  with  curious  sta- 
lactites. Our  passage  from  the  Adriatic  into  the  ^gean 
Sea  was  rather  rough ;  however,  we  reached  home  in 
good  condition. 

And  now  I  come  to  a  sad  part  of  my  story,  the 
abandonment  of  the  Jewish  mission  in  which  I  had 
spent  twenty-three  years  of  my  life. 

Dr.  Anderson  considered  the  vote  of  the  mission- 
aries at  their  last  annual  meeting,  recommending  to  the 
Board  the  abandonment  of  the  Jewish  work,  to  be  an 
act  entirely  beyond  their  competence,  and  refused  to 
take  any  notice  of  that  vote,  stating  that  the  Board 
would  continue  the  work  if  they  could  find  laborers. 
He  offered,  however,  to  transfer  any  missionary  who 
requested  it,  from  this  field  to  the  Armenian.  Messrs. 
Morgan  and  Parsons  were,  at  their  own  request,  trans- 
ferred. Dr.  Anderson  expressed  to  me  the  willingness 
of  the  Prudential  Committee  to  support  me  in  the 
Jewish  field,  even  if  I  should  labor  all  alone.  At 
Galata,  the  Scotch  Committee  had  established  a  school 
among  the  Ashkenazee  Jews,  which  proved  a  heavy 
charge  to  them,  as  their  funds  were  low.  I  had  had 
charge  of  this  field  for  a  year,  and  the  good  people  had 


Beginning  the  Turkish  Work.  215 

confidence  in  me.  Should  this  work  be  abandoned  by 
the  Scotch,  it  seemed  to  me  I  might  be  useful  there, 
and  so  I  waited  to  see  what  Mr.  Konig,  the  missionary 
at  Galata,  would  do.  In  the  spring  he  decided  to  re- 
main, and  so  my  path  became  clear. 

My  Jewish  labors  were  thus  definitely  brought  to  a 
close.  Mr.  Goodell  had  invited  me  in  a  very  brotherly 
manner  to  join  the  Armenian  work ;  but,  much  as 
I  loved  their  work,  and  the  good  people  among  the 
Armenians,  and  cheerfully  as  I  had  assisted  them  and 
struggled  in  their  interest,  I  'never  felt  an  inward  call 
to  devote  myself  to  that  portion  of  the  field.  In  the 
Bulgarians  I  always  felt  an  interest,  and  the  Turks  and 
the  Mohammedans  generally,  enlisted  my  sympathy, 
little  as  I  expected  to  see  speedy  results.  But  now, 
since  the  Crimean  war  had  broken  down  so  many  walls 
of  separation  in  society  and  sects,  and  as  the  power  of 
persecution  appeared  so  nearly  broken,  I  felt  a  pressure 
of  duty,  in  view  of  the  favorable  aspect  of  things 
among  the  Turks. 

On  Saturday,  the  nth  of  February,  1856,  we  had 
our  regular  business  meeting  at  Mr.  Goodell's,  in  Hass- 
keuy.  During  the  course  of  the  week,  Mr.  Konig  had 
manifested  his  determination  to  stay,  and  my  plan  was 
formed  at  once.  I  was  going  to  offer  myself  for  the 
Turkish  work. 

When  I  arrived,  the  meeting  was  already  in  progress, 
Mr.  Goodell  in  the  chair.  Before  my  turn  came  to 
speak,  Mr.  Dwight  took  out  of  his  pocket  a  letter, 
which  he  wished  to  read  to  the  session.  It  was  from 
Count  de  Zuylen,  Dutch  Ambassador,  and  President  at 


2i6  Autobiography. 

that  time  of  the  Turkish  branch  of  the  Evangelical 
AUiance.  The  purport  of  the  letter  was,  that  the  prom- 
ising state  of  things  among  the  Turks  loudly  called  for 
laborers ;  and  as  it  appeared  to  him  that  the  American, 
missionaries  were  fully  occupied,  he  proposed  to  try  to 
obtain  laborers  for  the  Turks,  from  Holland,  provided, 
however,  that  the  American  missionaries  would  accept 
the  responsibility  of  superintending  and  guiding  the 
labors  of  the  new-comers,  at  least  for  the  present. 

Mr.  Goodell  spoke  first  on  the  subject,  and  his  opin- 
ion was,  that  we  could  assume  no  such  responsibility. 
When  it  was  Mr.  Dvvight's  turn  to  speak  again,  he  said 
the  question  seemed  to  him  to  depend  entirely  on 
what  I  should  resolve  to  do  with  myself. 

I  replied,  that  probably  the  brethren  had  long  been 
wondering  what  I  was  doing  on  missionary  ground, 
without  a  definite  responsibility,  but  that  I  had  not 
been  able  to  come  to  any  conclusion  with  regard  to 
my  duty,  because  I  had  waited  from  week  to  week 
to  see  the  course  Mr.  Konig  would  take,  resolved,  if  he 
should  leave,  to  take  his  place,  and  establish  an  Ameri- 
can missionary  station  among  the  Jews  in  Galata.  Mr. 
Konig  had  now,  within  a  week,  come  to  the  conclusion 
to  stay,  and  thus  my  hope  to  labor  for  the  Jews  had 
to  be  given  up  for  good.  I  had  then,  without  delay, 
resolved  what  to  do,  and  had  come  down  to  the  ses- 
sion to  offer  my  services  to  labor  among  the  Turks,  if 
the  station  thought  that  that  field  ought  to  be  taken 
up,  and  that  I  was  fit  to  undertake  it.  I  told  them,  that 
I  had  no  knowledge  of  what  Count  de  Zuylen  thought 
or  felt  on  the  subject ;  that  I  had  had  no  conversation 


Beginning  the  Turkish  Work.  217 

with  him  upon  it  ;  that  I  knew  nothing  of  the  letter 
which  had  just  been  read ;  and  that  my  offer  to  labor 
among  the  Mohammedans  was  entirely  independent  of 
Count  de  Zuylen's  proposal. 

The  station  unhesitatingly  declared  that  my  offer 
solved  the  problem.  They  then  replied  to  the  Count 
that  our  station  would  put  one  laborer  into  the  Mo- 
hammedan field  to  commence  the  work,  with  a  view  to 
strengthen  the  department  in  proportion  as  it  should 
open.  The  Count  declared  himself  perfectly  satisfied 
with  the  arrangement,  and  rejoiced  greatly  over  it. 
Hardly  was  my  case  decided, — it  was  not  a  week,  I 
think, — when  I  received  a  letter  from  the  Missionary 
Committee  of  the  Scotch  Kirk,  at  Glasgow,  inviting 
me  to  join  their  mission,  and  become  its  moderator,  to 
direct  the  labors  of  the  younger  missionaries.  I  was 
grateful  to  God  for  this  narrow  escape  from  a  struggle 
about  my  duty.  My  decision  was  made,  and  I  respect- 
fully declined  their  offer. 

The  station,  of  course,  proposed  the  measure  to  the 
Prudential  Committee.  Feb.  13th,  I  wrote  to  Dr. 
Anderson.  A  most  favorable  answer,  fully  approving 
of  the  step,  was  received  in  due  time.  I  was  now  a 
Turkish  missionary,  destined  again  to  serve  in  the  Islam 
field,  to  which  I  had  devoted  myself  in  1826.  I  im- 
mediately set  about  preparing  for  my  new  business, 
very  much  as  though  I  were  a  young  missionary.  In 
fact,  having  now  an  object  to  live  for,  I  felt  like  living 
again.  I  bought  the  Lexicons  of  Bianchi  and  Mininsky, 
and  began  work.  Whether  it  was  due  to  my  age,  or  to  the 
intrinsic  difficulties  of  the  language,  or  both,  I  found  it 


2i8  Autobiography. 

very  hard  to  press  forward  to  the  point  which  I  felt  I 
must  reach,  and  which  I  have  hardly  reached  yet  (1868). 
I  was  often  discouraged,  and  as  often  stirred  myself  up 
to  fresh  efforts. 

Meantime,  the  Crimean  armies  and  all  connected 
with  them  had  withdrawn,  or  were  withdrawing.  But 
before  they  quite  left,  the  question  of  a  revised  trans- 
lation of  the  Bible  into  Turkish  came  up.  A  Branch 
of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  had  been 
formed  here  in  1854,  to  celebrate  the  semi-centennial 
jubilee  of  that  society,  and  when  its  first  meeting  was 
held  at  the  Hotel  de  Bellevue,  Lord  de  Redcliffe  in 
the  chair,  that  meeting  was  rendered  peculiarly  impres- 
sive by  the  fact  that,  while  it  was  going  on,  the  British 
ships  of  war  w^ere  passing  up  the  Bosporus  saluting  and 
being  saluted.  Army  chaplains  rushed  into  the  meet- 
ing, and  took  part  in  the  exercises.  One  of  them  fol- 
lowed my  remarks  with  a  stirring  speech,  and  while  the 
speakers  gave  utterance  to  their  thoughts  and  hopes, 
the  salutes  of  the  British  ships  and  the  responses  of 
the  Turkish  batteries  shook  the  city.  It  was  really 
sublime ! 

Among  the  chaplains  of  the  British  Army  was  Dr. 
Blackwood,  who  was  connected  with  the  Military 
Hospital  at  Scutari.  He  took  the  liveliest  inter- 
est in  the  missionary  work  from  the  first.  The 
edition  of  the  Turkish  New  Testament  that  had  been 
so  many  years  a  drug  in  the  Bible  market,  was  ex- 
hausted during  the  war,  and  another  edition  was  com- 
menced. Mr.  Redhouse,  in  London,  was  to  give  it  a 
slight  revision.    He  had  always  objected  to  its  un-idiom- 


Beginning  the  Turkish  Work.  219 

atic  style,  and  burned  (as  Mr.  Bergne  told  me)  with 
the  desire  of  producing  a  real  Turkish  version.  But  as 
he  knew  neither  Greek  nor  Hebrew,  they  were  unwill- 
ing to  entrust  the  work  to  him,  except  slightly  to  im- 
prove the  shape  without  affecting  the  meaning.  This 
he  did,  still  protesting  against  the  bad  style,  until  he 
came  to  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  when  he  declared 
that  the  changes  must  be  considerable,  or  he  could  not 
make  the  text  even  tolerable.  The  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  Committee  then  requested  me  to  watch 
his  changes,  comparing  them  with  the  Greek ;  and  the 
forms  were  sent  to  me  for  examination  before  being 
struck  off.  This  continued  till  we  went  to  America 
in  1857,  when  there  remained  but  a  small  part  of  the 
Apocalypse  (the  style  of  which  is  certainly  plain,  though 
the  meaning  is  deep),  and  I  left  Mr.  Redhouse  to  finish 
the  edition  upon  his  own  responsibility. 

Now  Dr.  Blackwood  had  become  very  anxious  to 
have  a  good  translation  into  Turkish  gotten  underway, 
and  he  proposed  to  have  it  done  by  the  Turkish  Aux- 
iliary of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 

A  meeting  was  called  at  the  American  chapel  in  Pera. 
Mr.  Williams  was  also  invited  to  attend.  The  question 
of  preparing  a  Turkish  Bible  text  was  brought  up. 
Mr.  Goodell  thought  the  time  for  such  an  undertaking 
had  not  yet  come  ;  that  we  should  have  to  wait  for  fur- 
ther developments,  and  for  a  maturer  experience  on 
our  part,  and,  chiefly,  for  a  time  when  the  language  of 
conversation  and  that  of  books  had  been  more  assimi- 
lated and  combined  among  the  Turks.  But  Mr.  Will- 
iams rose  and  stated  it  as  his  deliberate  opinion,  that 


220  Autobiography. 

Mr.  Goodell's  Armeno-Turkish  version  was  just  the 
thing,  (proper  names,  and  a  few  Armenian  terms  except- 
ed,) and  that  the  version  could,  with  very  slight  changes, 
be  at  once  transferred  into  the  Turkish  proper.  He 
had  read  the  book  to  many  Turks,  and  asked  them 
whether  they  understood  it,  and  they  did,  and  greatly 
preferred  it  to  the  so-called  "  Redhouse  text."  I  had 
nothing  to  say,  as  I  had  never  learnt  the  Armenian 
alphabet,  and  knew  nothing  of  that  version.  But  I  and 
all  the  rest  trusted  in  the  judgment  of  Mr.  Williams. 
It  was,  therefore,  concluded  that  the  text  should  be 
transcribed  into  the  Turkish  character.  I  was  charged 
to  superintend  the  version,  and  bring  out  the  work ;  and 
the  expense  was  to  be  borne  by  the  Turkish  Auxiliary 
of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society. 

Thus  I  was  drawn  into  an  enterprise,  into  which  it 
would  have  been  perfect  folly  and  presumption  in  me 
to  enter,  had  I  known  what  was  before  me.  But  I  had 
consented,  and  I  immediately  set  about  acquiring  the 
necessary  facility  in  the  Armenian  character,  and  read- 
ing Mr.  Goodell's  text.  As  I  went  on  reading  that 
version,  I  could  not  but  feel  that,  however  well  adapted 
it  might  be  to  the  Armenians,  it  would  never  do  for  the 
Turks.  It  was  manifest  that  I  had  at  once  to  set  about 
Turkish  studies,  getting  as  full  a  hold  of  the  language 
as  I  could,  and  reading  both  Turkish  proper  and 
Armeno-Turkish. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

A  VISIT   TO   AMERICA,   AND   ITS   RESULTS. 

AT  the  Annual  Meeting  at  Constantinople,  in  1857, 
Mr.  Pettingill,  Secretary  of  the  American  Board, 
was  present.  He  proposed  to  me  privately  that  I 
should  go  to  America  to  bring  the  cause  of  the  Turk- 
ish mission  before  the  churches.  For  several  years  we 
had  had  permission,  unsought  by  us,  to  visit  America, 
but  at  the  time  it  was  given,  Dr.  Anderson  said  there 
were  just  then  so  many  returned  missionaries  in  the 
United  States,  that  if  I  could  wait  a  little,  and  take  a 
more  suitable  season  for  our  visit,  it  would  be  well.  I, 
for  myself,  did  not  expect  to  make  any  use  of  this  per- 
mission, unless  we  went  home  to  stay  altogether.  But 
now  there  was  a  reason,  not  for  our  own  gratification, 
but  for  the  Cause,  and  we  concluded  at  once  to  avail 
ourselves  of  the  leave  of  absence. 

We  went  by  way  of  Paris  and  London  ;  our  voyage 
was  a  pleasant  one,  and  we  arrived  in  New  York  on  the 
20th  of  August. 

We  drove  to  the  Everett  House,  and  after  resting  a 
little,  we  went  to  Dr.  Wm.  Adams's,  and  found  they 
were  absent  on  their  summer  vacation.  We  called  at 
Dr.  Cheever's,  and  he,  too,  was  absent.  Wc  then  went 
to  see  the  Rev.  Henry  M.  Field,  and  found  him  and 
his  lady  at  home.     They  gave  us  a  most  hearty  wel- 

(221) 


222  Autobiography. 

come,  sent  for  our  baggage,  paid  our  bill,  and  kept  us. 
This  kind  reception  in  a  family  I  had  not  known  be- 
fore, was  beyond  my  expectation. 

The  next  day  we  started  for  East  Windsor,  Conn., 
for,  having  learned  that  Henry  and  Edward,  with  some 
other  missionary  children,  were  to  be  there  at  Prof. 
Lawrence's  on  the  22d,  we  determined  to  surprise 
them  by  joining  their  little  party.  Leaving  the  cars 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Connecticut  River,  we 
crossed  the  river  on  a  romantic  old-fashioned  raft  or 
float,  pulled  to  and  fro  by  a  rope,  in  the  most  approved 
antique  style.  As  the  boat  happened  to  be  on  the 
other  side  when  we  arrived,  we  had  to  wait.  But  the 
evening  sky,  the  shades  settling  on  the  water  and  on 
the  woody  shores,  the  cool  river  air,  all  were  so  full  of 
interest  and  pleasure  to  me,  that  I  could  have  spent 
the  whole  night  there.  At  last  the  craft  came,  and  we 
passed  over,  and  drove  up  to  East  Windsor  Hill. 

The  family  had  just  returned  an  hour  or  two  before 
from  a  little  tour  of  recreation,  and  they  received  the 
uninvited,  unexpected  guests  with  the  greatest  cordiality 
and  kindness.  But  Prof,  and  Mrs.  Lawrence  (the  latter 
formerly  Margaret  Woods,  and  one  of  my  French  pupils) 
were  not  my  only  acquaintances  at  that  place.  Prof. 
Thomson,  connected  with  the  same  theological  semi- 
nary there,  was  my  classmate  at  Andover,  as  good  a 
Christian  man  as  I  ever  want  to  see,  and  there  we  had 
become  quite  intimate. 

I  preached  on  Sunday  in  the  Seminary  chapel.  We 
saw  the  good  people, — among  them  the  venerable  Dr. 
Tyler  and  his  lady, — and  visited  Mr.  Nettleton's  grave. 


A  Visit  to  America.  223 

On  Monday  we  went  to  Hartford,  where  we  were  cor- 
dially received  by  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Isaac  Bird, 
formerly  a  missionary  in  Syria,  and  by  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Hawes,  and  others. 

If  I  were  to  detail  our  visit  to  America,  where  we 
remained  fully  nine  months,  it  would  fill  a  little  volume. 
But  the  visits  of  missionaries  are  something  so  com- 
mon, and  generally  so  much  the  same,  that  I  will  speak 
of  this  only  with  a  view  to  its  influence  upon  our 
work,  and  as  a  proof  of  our  gratitude  for,  and  kind  re- 
membrance of,  the  many  special  kindnesses  we  received 
from  old  friends. 

We  saw  the  Secretaries  and  attended  the  Annual 
Meeting  of  the  Board,  where  I  spoke  several  times,  and 
took  part  in  the  administration  of  the  communion. 
We  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  sessions  of  the  Board,  con- 
sidering them  as  among  the  choicest  and  most  refresh- 
ing seasons  we  had  ever  enjoyed. 

As  soon  as  we  came  to  New  York,  we  were  invited 
to  take  up  our  residence,  while  we  should  remain  in 
America,  at  the  house  of  Dr.  Wm.  Adams.  They 
insisted  upon  it,  and  would  not  let  us  return  to  Dr. 
Wood,  our  Secretary.  We  might  visit  friends  as  we 
pleased,  but  their  house  was  to  be  our  home,  and  our 
trunks  should  remain  there.  And  so  they  did,  and 
from  there,  at  the  end  of  our  stay,  we  departed,  to 
embark  again  at  Boston. 

Without  endeavoring  to  speak  in  detail  of  my  va- 
rious movements,  (which  would  be  impossible,)  I  can 
only  refer  to  the  chief  objects  which  occupied  my  mind, 
and  which  I  had  intended,  if  possible,  to  accomplish, 


224  Autobiography. 

though   only  the   first  was  the  subject  of  my  public 
speeches  and  appeals. 

I  wanted  to  raise  funds  for  the  purpose  of  publishing 
a  set  of  books — spelling-book,  grammar,  reader,  and 
lexicon — and  some  useful  dialogues  in  Turkish  and 
English,  to  give  to  the  rising  generation  of  inquiring 
Turks  an  opportunity  to  acquire  the  English  language. 
The  French  had  left  us  altogether  behind  in  this  respect, 
and  succeeded  in  introducing  the  French  language 
among  the  Turks ;  and  though  we  could  not  expect  to 
catch  up  with  them,  it  seemed,  under  the  circumstances 
then  existing,  that  an  effort  should  be  made  to  give 
to  young  Turks  the  advantage  of  the  English  tongue  ; 
that  their  ideas  of  progress,  civilization,  and  Christian 
morals  and  religion  might  not  be  formed  exclusively 
by  the  French,  whose  books  they  were  devouring,  and 
among  which  Voltaire  was,  and  always  is,  the  first  they 
read.  I  had  written  to  England  about  it,  and  a  com- 
mittee had  been  formed  to  promote  this  object,  with 
Lord  Calthorpe  as  chairman.  They  had  urged  it  upon 
the  British  Government  as  a  political  measure.  But 
the  Government  was  not  to  be  gained  for  such  an  object, 
and  to  get  rid  of  it  with  a  good  grace,  gave  the  ap- 
plicants ;^300  sterling,  on  condition  that  they  should 
raise  an  equal  sum  by  subscription,  for  the  purpose  of 
purchasing  the  remainder  of  the  edition  of  Redhouse's 
Turkish-English  Lexicon,  and  scattering  it  in  Turkey 
to  their  hearts'  content.  This  was,  of  course,  accepted, 
and  the  edition  was  bought,  greatly  to  the  pleasure  of 
the  publisher,  who  had  it  prepared  hastily  in  view  of 
the  Crimean  war,  and  on  whose  shelves  it  was  a  drug. 


A  Visit  to  America.  225 

While  in  England  I  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Birch 
(Secretary  of  the  Turkish  Missions  Aid  Society)  to  Mr. 
Gladstone,  to  recommend  the  object  still  farther.  But 
an  hour's  conversation  convinced  me,  that  nothing 
could  be  expected  from  that  quarter.  The  Sepoy  re- 
bellion had  broken  out,  the  news  having  been  received 
when  we  first  reached  London,  and  Mr.  Gladstone's  head 
was  full  of  Sepoys.  He  considered  the  Turks,  however, 
to  be  quite  as  dangerous,  and  gave  me  advice  as  to  how 
carefully  missionary  operations  should  be  carried  on 
among  them.  He  was,  of  course,  entirely  ignorant  of 
the  mode  of  carrying  on  missionary  labors,  at  least  by 
the  Americans,  and  I  took  the  opportunity  of  en- 
lightening that  great  man's  mind  a  little  on  the  subject. 
I  left  him,  astonished  that  a  man  standing  so  high,  and 
of  such  acknowledged  ability  in  general  politics,  and 
especially  in  English  home  interests,  should  be  so  ig- 
norant of  a  country  like  Turkey,  upon  which  the  eyes 
of  all  Europe  had  been  so  intently  fixed  for  so  long  a 
series  of  years,  not  to  say  for  generations  past.  There 
being  so  little  encouragement  on  English  soil,  I  was 
obliged  to  take  my  scheme  across  the  ocean. 

In  case  I  should  accomplish  it,  I  had,  of  course, 
measures  in  view  to  be  adopted  on  my  return  to 
Turkey,  to  give  efficiency  to  the  scheme,  such  as 
courses  of  lectures  on  the  English  language  and  liter- 
ature, for  young  Turks,  until  the  comparative  cheap- 
ness of  the  books  should  favor  their  more  rapid  dis- 
semination. All  this  seemed  entirely  feasible, — nay, 
eminently  called  for  at  that  time. 

The  second  object  I  had  in  view  was  the  College 
10* 


226  Autobiography. 

question,  which  had  been  started  by  the  two  oldest 
sons  of  Dr.  Dwight,  studying  in  America,  and  to  en- 
dorse and  recommend  which,  I  was  twice  charged  to 
write  to  America,  once  by  the  assembled  mission,  and 
once  by  the  station.  As  soon  as  I  saw  the  two  young 
men,  I  told  them  that  I  intended  first  to  promote  their 
scheme  as  the  older,  and  only  when  I  had  done  what  I 
could  for  that,  to  try  what  I  could  do  for  mine.  I 
spoke  about  it  to  Mr.  Christopher  R.  Robert,  Dr.  Adams, 
and  others,  and  several  sessions  were  held  at  Mr. 
Robert's  home.  I  spoke  also  of  my  book  scheme. 
Mr.  Robert,  after  I  had  made  various  attempts  to  in- 
terest different  persons  in  it,  wished  me,  on  returning 
to  England,  to  see  what  it  would  cost,  and  in  what 
amounts  the  expenses  might  have  to  be  paid,  and  he 
hoped  he  could  manage  it  for  me.  This  seemed  very 
kind,  and  I  was  most  grateful  for  it.  Mr.  Robert  could 
doubtless  have  "  managed "  it  easily,  but  Providence 
had  prepared  the  means  by  other  hands. 

It  was  so  much  the  more  difficult  and  discouraging 
to  raise  funds  for  any  extra  object,  however  promising 
and  important,  as,  soon  after  our  arrival,  that  remark- 
able and  unaccountable  money  panic  broke  out  in 
America,  and  brought  down  so  many  houses,  great  and 
small,  in  New  York,  and  through  the  land.  Such  dis- 
tress among  business  men  had  not  occurred  since  1837. 
Those  who  would  have  been  liberal  in  giving  to  a  good 
object  could  not, — how  much  less  accessible  would 
those  naturally  be,  who  were  less  interested  in  the  prog- 
ress of  the  good  cause  in  distant  lands  ! 

During  our  stay  in  America,  I  also  visited  Canada, 


A  Visit  to  America.  227 

to  attend  Missionary,  Bible,  and  Tract  Society  meet" 
ings  in  Montreal. 

I  kept  no  account  of  the  number  of  miles  I  traveled, 
of  the  meetings  I  held,  or  of  the  sermons  I  preached, 
or  even  of  the  places  which  I  visited.  I  will  only  refer 
to  two  places  more,  viz.,  Andover  and  Newburyport. 

Soon  after  reaching  Boston  we  went  up  to  Andover, 
but  not  by  the  old  stage.  We  were  brought  in  by  the 
cars  at  a  point  I  had  never  touched  before,  and  every- 
thing looked  very  strange.  However,  I  soon  recog- 
nized the  Seminary  buildings,  and  made  my  way  toward 
them. 

We  were  entertained  by  Prof.  Park,  the  best  old  friend 
that  remained  to  me  at  that  cherished  place. 

My  first  walk  was  over  to  the  Seminary  burying- 
ground,  where  so  many  of  my  old  Andover  friends 
were  slumbering.  The  dearest  among  them.  Old  Fa- 
ther Stuart,  recalled  the  past — those  five  Andover  years, 
1826-31 — more  than  any  other.  But  the  amount  of 
precious  dust  sleeping  there,  of  students  and  of  Profes- 
sors, and  members  of  other  families,  was  great  indeed. 
It  seemed  strange  that  /  was  still  alive.  I  walked  alone 
down  along  the  old  stage-road  towards  Boston,  and  there 
all  was  as  it  had  been.  Even  the  houses,  not  new  some 
of  them  then,  were  still  standing,  and  the  road,  the 
ditches,  the  old  fences,  the  old  stones,  bushes,  dust,  and 
dirt,  were  all  there ;  and  it  seemed  to  me  just  as  though  I 
had  met  with  old  friends,  and  they  had  not  changed, 
and  looked  at  me  so  kindly  and  so  solemnly  and  serious- 
ly that  it  was  quite  a  meeting  I  had  with  them,  both 
profitable  and  refreshing.     They  had  remained,  and  so 


228  Autobiography. 

had  I,  and  though  I  had  rolled  around  the  world  through 
many  changing  scenes,  it  seemed  when  I  came  among 
these  old  comrades,  I  was  quite  the  same  again  that  I 
had  been. 

The  second  place  to  which  my  heart  would  lead  me 
especially  to  allude  is  Nevvburyport.  There,  in  days 
long  gone  by,  the  Wheelwright  family  had  been  very 
kind  to  me.  Then,  the  old  father  and  the  excellent 
mother  were  still  alive,  as  also  a  son,  and  two  un- 
married daughters,  Elizabeth  and  Susan.  Of  our  old 
friends,  there  remained  alive  and  present  the  last 
two,  both  unmarried,  and  in  the  old  house.  When 
we  came  there  we  were  received  with  the  utmost 
kindness,  and  spent  several  most  pleasant  and  profit- 
able seasons  there.  Of  course,  there  was  no  lack  of 
meetings.  It  was  in  Newburyport  alone  that  I  found 
still  a  living  interest  in  the  people  of  Israel,  and  there 
alone  I  was  called  upon  to  hold,  before  some  perse- 
vering friends  of  Israel,  a  Jewish  missionary  meeting. 
Everywhere  else  they  seemed  to  be  forgotten. 

Our  farewell  meeting  here  was  most  touching.  The 
sitting-room  was  quite  full,  and  after  some  very  sweet 
conversation  and  singing,  we  were  led  in  prayer  by  Dr. 
Dana,  the  dear  old  patriarch,  then  fully  ripe  for  heaven. 
I  can  never  forget  that  moment,  nor  that  prayer. 

I  here  received  very  substantial  aid  in  a  project  in 
which  I  was  then  interested,  viz.,  the  purchase  of  a  lot 
and  erection  of  a  house  thereon  for  Mr.  Edward  Will- 
iams, of  Constantinople,  the  converted  Turk,  who  had 
been  received  into  missionary  service  as  a  lay-helper. 
The  chief  donors  were  the  Wheelwright  sisters,  Eliza- 


A  Visit  to  America.  229 

beth,  Susan,  and  a  married  sister.  Mother  also  re- 
ceived considerable  help  from  friends  in  Boston  and 
other  places. 

Before  we  left  America,  a  great  meeting  was  ar- 
ranged in  a  church  in  Boston,  where  Dr.  Anderson 
delivered  to  me,  not  instructions,  but  a  kind  of  state- 
ment on  the  question  of  the  Turkish  work  in  its  new 
aspect. 

Before  we  left  New  York  for  the  last  time,  we  at- 
tended the  May  meetings.  I  spoke  on  several  occa- 
sions. The  Bible  Society  meetings,  and  that  of  the 
American  Board,  were  interesting  and  profitable  sea- 
sons ;  not  so  the  meetings  of  the  American  Tract  So- 
ciety. The  conflict  between  the  pro-slavery  and  the 
compromise  parties,  and  that  party  who  desired  to  have 
at  least  something  done  for  the  oppressed  slaves,  was 
then  at  its  height.  I  had  observed  the  state  of  feeling 
on  the  subject  as  I  was  traveling  around  the  country. 
I  considered  a  rupture  imminent,  unless  the  Society,  or 
rather  the  Publishing  Committee,  did  something  for 
the  poor  oppressed. 

We  had  hardly  left  America  when  the  Society  was 
divided,  and  before  any  one  of  us  thought  or  dreamed 
of  it,  the  war  broke  out,which  swept  slavery  itself  from 
the  land. 

A  glorious  farewell  meeting  in  Dr.  Adams's  church 
closed  our  sojourn  in  New  York.  All  that  Christian 
sympathy  and  abounding  kindness  could  say  and  do, 
was  said  and  done  by  our  numerous  friends,  old  and 
new,  who  were  there  present.  Our  hands  were  almost 
crushed  with  being  pressed,  but  our  hearts  were  deeply 


230  Autobiography. 

refreshed.  In  the  morning  we  left  for  Boston,  to  em- 
bark again  for  our  field. 

Our  voyage  was  prosperous,  though  in  part  again 
rough,  and  we  saw  rather  more  icebergs  at  a  distance 
than  we  cared  for.  "  I  don't  like  them  fellows,"  said 
the  first  mate  to  me. 

Landing  in  Liverpool,  we  soon  found  out  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Colley  and  their  family,  and  quite  renewed  our 
old  friendship  with  them. 

We  had  to  spend  a  month  in  London,  where  a  num- 
ber of  missionary  meetings  were  to  be  held  by  me  for 
the  Turkish  Missions  Aid  Society. 

To  speak  of  the  meetings  separately  would  be  impos- 
sible, as  I  kept  no  record  of  them,  whether  held  in 
London  or  in  neighboring  places,  whether  Lord  Shaftes- 
bury was  in  the  chair,  or  somebody  else.  But  the  sea- 
son was  unfavorable,  and  the  meetings  generally  seemed 
to  be  small  concerns.  A  peculiarity  of  these  meetings, 
in  reference  to  which  there  was  no  exception,  was  this, 
viz.,  I  had  to  speak,  (i)  Of  the  great  Prayer-Meetings 
then  going  on  in  America,  and  (2)  Of  the  Missionary 
work  in  Turkey,  especially  among  the  Turks  them- 
selves. I  refer  especially  to  those  great  Prayer-Meetings 
just  commenced  in  Fulton  Street.  I  was,  of  course, 
present  several  times,  and  they  were  indeed  glorious. 
But  this  page  of  the  religious  history  of  America  is  so 
well  known  that  I  think  it  needs  no  more  than  a  men- 
tion. 

It  was  suggested  that  before  returning  to  the  East,  I 
should  visit  Edinburgh,  which  I  did. 

I  was  brought  to  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Cullen, 


A  Visit  to  America.  231 

and  a  public  meeting  was  arranged  in  Queen's  Hall, 
although  it  was  feared  the  attendance  would  be  small, 
on  account  of  the  season  of  the  year,  so  many  families 
being  in  the  country.  But  we  were  agreeably  disap- 
pointed. The  spacious  Hall  was  crowded.  A  number 
of  ministers  were  again  around  me,  among  them  a  Dr. 
Candlish,  whose  acquaintance  I  had  made,  and  Dr. 
Duncan,  our  old  friend.  I  had  chiefly  to  speak  on  the 
great  Prayer-Meetings,  and  confined  myself  almost 
entirely  to  them,  as  the  Turkish  Missions  Aid  Society 
could  expect  no  assistance  from  Scotland.  Dr.  Cand- 
lish made  some  excellent  remarks,  recommending  the 
continuation  of  the  meeting  begun  that  day,  as  in  har- 
mony with  the  great  American  Pentecostal  movements. 

Before  I  turn  towards  the  East  again  with  my 
story,  I  must  relate  our  visit  toKew  to  Mr.  Wm. 
Wheelwright  and  his  family,  who  invited  us  to  spend  a 
few  days  with  them  in  their  country-house.  Mr.  Wheel- 
wright is  a  brother  to  those  good  sisters  of  that  name 
in  Newburyport,  who  have  proved  even  till  now  such 
kind  friends  to  us  and  our  work.  I  had  never  seen  him 
during  all  my  residence  in  America,  from  1826  to  1831. 

While  we  were  at  Kew,  Mr.  Wheelwright  walked 
into  their  garden  with  me.  "  I  hear  you  have  a  pro- 
ject for  the  Turks,  to  make  the  English  language  acces- 
sible to  them,"  he  said.  I  replied  in  the  affirmative. 
"You  want  $5,000  more  to  carry  it  through?"  he  ask- 
ed. "  Yes,  that  sum  would  put  me  quite  on  my  feet," 
I  said.  ''  Well,  you  may  look  to  me  for  that ;  I  will  pay 
that  bill."  I  was  astonished,  and  thanked  him  heartily 
for  it. 


232  Autobiography. 

I  then  had  Mr.  Birch  call  a  meeting  of  the  British 
Committee  for  this  "  English  Literature  scheme,"  and 
before  they  were  to  assemble,  Mr.  Birch  and  myself 
went  to  Mr.  Wheelwright  to  settle  the  question  defi- 
nitely, and  to  arrange  the  mode  of  payment.  Mr.  Red- 
house  had  agreed  to  write  for  us  an  English-Turkish 
Lexicon,  for  the  permanent  copyright  of  which  we 
were  to  pay  him  £600.  He  was  to  construct  for 
us  a  spelling-book.  Dialogues  in  Turkish  and  English 
were  to  be  arranged  under  Mr.  Birch's  direction  by 
Mahmoud  Efendi.  Of  the  Turkish  Grammar,  by  which 
to  acquire  the  English  language,  I  was  to  take  care  my- 
self, using  such  help  as  I  could  get  at  Constantinople. 
I  subsequently  used  this  same  Mahmoud  Efendi,  when 
he  came  here,  for  this  purpose,  making  him  translate 
and  adapt  an  English  Grammar  of  small  compass,  but 
the  work  proved  very  unsatisfactory. 

To  return  to  London:  when  Mr.  Wheelwright  saw  the 
plan  of  the  set  of  books,  and  the  cost  of  the  whole,  he 
said  to  me,  "  I  see  from  this  schedule  that  the  $5,000 
I  gave  you  is  not  enough."  I  replied,  "  I  know  that, 
but  after  your  gift  towards  the  work,  I  have  no  doubt 
of  being  able  to  raise  the  balance  easily  in  America." 
"  Oh,  I  do  not  want  you  to  drum  up  balances ! "  he 
replied.  "  I  prefer  to  do  it  alone.  It  is  a  good  thing 
and  you  had  better  go  ahead,  and  Mr.  Birch  will  call 
for  the  installments  when  they  are  needed."  Mr. 
Birch  was  astonished.  When  we  came  to  the  mission- 
ary rooms  of  the  Aid  Society,  the  committee  was  there, 
and  when  we  reported  the  result  of  our  visit  at  Mr. 
Wheelwright's  office,  Lord   Calthorpe   called  his   con- 


A  Visit  to  Amehica.  233 

trlbutlon  a  "  princely  gift,"  and  said  :  "  We  have  noth- 
ing more  to  do  now  ;  the  business  is  in  Dr.  Schauffler's 
hands."  Thus  the  committee  virtually  ceased  to  be. 
Mr.  Birch  continued  to  serve  while  the  business  was 
being  done.  Then  the  whole  came  into  my  hands. 
The  small  dictionary  was  at  my  disposal  to  give  av\^ay, 
or  to  sell  and  keep  the  money  towards  a  re-edition  of 
any  of  the  other  books,  and  the  other  books  were  also 
generally  left  to  my  discretion,  with  the  understanding 
that  the  money  received  from  sales  be  devoted  to  keep- 
ing the  scheme  going  in  a  self-supporting  way. 

We  soon  left  for  Constantinople.  On  passing  up 
the  Marmora  Sea,  we  paddled  away  for  some  time 
under  heavy  thunder-clouds,  which  our  masts  seemed 
to  scrape  as  we  passed  under  them.  The  thunder  was 
heavy,  the  flashes  of  lightning  fearful.  The  air  was  so 
full  of  electricity  that  I  saw  the  sparks,  in  great  num- 
ber, fly  around  our  iron  steamer.  It  seems  the  mass 
of  iron  in  such  a  fabric  draws  down  the  electricity  in 
a  continuous  stream  and  so  anticipates  the  explosive 
action  of  lightning.  We  arrived  safely  at  Constanti- 
nople. 

The  remaining  portions  of  Dr.  Schauffler's  auto- 
biography are  occupied  with  a  narration  of  the  diffi- 
culties which  encompassed  the  newly  inaugurated  mis- 
sion to  the  Turks,  and  the  reasons  which  led  to  his 
withdrawal  from  the  service  of  the  American  Board, 
and  his  employment  by  the  American  Bible  Society 
and  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  A  very 
brief  summary  of  these  events,  with  some  reflections 


234  Autobiography. 

on  his  life  and  character,  as  given  below,  are  taken  from 
Rev.  Dr.  H.  C.  Haydn's  "  American  Heroes  on  Mission 
Fields."  Before  introducing  them,  however,  it  seems 
fitting  to  append  the  closing  words  of  the  autobi- 
ography itself  : 

**  These  pages  were  written  often  at  considerable  in- 
tervals and  very  irregularly.  They  probably  bear  a 
melancholy  testimony  to  this  fact.  I  began  them,  as 
the  date  shows,  on  my  sixtieth  birthday ;  I  intend  to 
sign  them  on  my  seventieth,  if  I  live  so  long.  If  it 
please  God  to  spare  my  life  till  I  have  finished  my 
Turkish  Bible  translation,  I  shall  say :  '  Now  lettest 
Thou  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace.'  If  not,  may  more 
skilful  hands  than  mine  finish  it ! 

''  I  will  add  no  confession  of  personal  unfaithfulness 
and  unworthiness  in  the  Lord's  service.  My  life  is 
sufficiently  expressive  of  it,  as  I  feel  it  to  have  been. 
To  speak  of  the  Lord's  faithfulness,  patience,  and 
bountifulness  towards  us,  and  especially  towards  me, 
there  would  be  no  end.  I  need  a  whole  Eternity  for 
that !  Such  as  I  have  been  and  am,  my  hope  is  in 
Christ,  and  only  in  Him,  and  will  be,  I  trust  and  pray, 
in  my  dying  hour!  To  Him  be  glory  for  ever  and 
ever.     Amen." 

What  follows  is  extracted  from  Dr.  Haydn's  work. 

"THE   WORK  AMONG  THE  TURKS. 

"  Dr.  Schiuffler  is  again  back  at  his  work.  The 
arduous  task  of  translating  the  Scriptures  into  Turkish 
is  before  him,  and  with  it  he  courageously  grapples. 


The  Work  among  the  Turks'.  235 

Selim  Agha,  a  convert  from  Mohammedanism,  baptized 
as  Edward  Williams,  well  versed  in  the  Scriptures,  gifted 
in  conversational  interviews  with  the  Turks,  and  popu- 
lar with  them  as  a  preacher,  occupied  the  new  house, 
and  received  all  that  came,  preaching  Christ. 

^'  To  institute  a  new  mission  for  the  Turks  on  the  very 
field  of  the  Armenian  mission,  where  race  prejudices 
were  intensely  antagonistic  and  might  call  for  separate 
institutions,  Dr.  Schaufifler  foresaw  might  prove  a  step 
too  costly  for  the  Board.  He  so  expressed  himself, 
but  was  encouraged  to  go  forward,  which  he  did,  not 
without  misgivings  as  to  the  issue.  But  some  of  the 
difficulties  anticipated  by  Dr.  Schauffler,  and  some  not 
foreseen,  arose,  among  them  the  entrance  of  the  Propa- 
gation Society  (High  Church)  of  England,  and  the  de- 
termination in  Boston  not  to  institute  a  separate  Turk- 
ish mission,  but  to  have  the  Armenian  mission  cover 
the  entire  field ;  and  these  led  to  complications  which 
eventuated  in  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Schauffler  as  a 
missionary  of  the  American  Board.  Henceforth  to  the 
end  of  his  life-work  he  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
American  and  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Societies, 
engaged  upon  his  great  work  of  Bible  translation. 
Thus  summarily  closed  the  '  separate '  Turkish  mis- 
sion, as  had  the  Jewish  before  it,  to  both  which  he  was 
fully  committed  ;  and  through  all  these  trying  times  it 
is  beautiful  to  see  how  his  faith  and  charity  triumphed, 
and  how  deeply  conscientious  and  truly  wise  he  was, 
his  chief  concern  being  the  glory  of  God  and  the 
spread  of  His  kingdom. 

"The  Gospels  and  the  Acts   in  Turkish  were  pub- 


236  Autobiography. 

lished  in  1862,  the  whole  New  Testament  in  1866; 
some  books  of  the  Old  Testament  followed.  The  view 
is  expressed  that,  '  however  opinions  may  differ,  as 
they  do,  concerning  the  value  of  this  version  for  the 
common  people,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  invalu- 
able service  done  by  Dr.  Schauffler,  whose  version  will 
hereafter  be  the  version,  or  the  basis  of  whatever  re- 
vision is  finally  adopted.' 

LAST   YEARS. 

"  The  veteran  missionary  and  his  faithful  helpmeet 
were  now  entitled  to  rest. 

"  They  left  Constantinople  in  1874.  '  During  more 
than  40  years  of  missionary  life  their  house  had  been  a 
home  for  friends  and  an  asylum  for  strangers ;  and 
when  the  aged  pilgrims  took  their  leave  of  the  weather- 
stained  old  house,  many  a  tear  flowed  and  many  a  ben- 
ediction followed  them.'  After  sojourning  for  three 
years  with  his  son  Henry,  a  missionary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board  in  Moravia,  they  came  to  New  York  to 
spend  the  rest  of  their  days  with  their  two  younger 
sons.  From  their  embraces  he  passed  away.  '  His 
last  illness  was  brief.  No  special  disease  showed  itself. 
It  was  rather  a  general  and  rapid  failing  of  his  physical 
powers,  until  Friday,  January  26,  1883,  when  at  5  P.M. 
he  gently  fell  asleep  in  Jesus.  The  day  before  this  he 
suddenly  aroused  out  of  the  drowsy  state  in  which  he 
had  lain,  and  commenced  speaking.  He  seemed  lifted 
to  a  mount  of  vision  whence  he  could  behold  the  past 
in  its  true  significance,  and  see  the  coming  triumph  and 


Last  Days.  237 

glory  of  Christ's  kingdom.  He  said :  "  I  have  seen 
wonderful  things — the  kingdom  of  God  revived,  quick- 
ened. Wife  and  I  have  seen  glorious  things  in  South 
Russia,  the  kingdom  of  God  coming,  and  in  Germany, 
and  in  the  Catholic  Church.  And  now  be  faithful  and 
prayerful,  and  be  sure  the  kingdom  of  God  will  come. 
His  glory  shall  fill  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the 
sea.      I  can    say  with   Thy  faithful    servant   (Bengel), 

*  Lord  Jesus,  between  us  all  remains  as  of  old ';  and 
now  come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly ;  all  my  hope  and 
trust  is  in  Thee  ;  take  me  just  as  I  am.  Glory  be  to  the 
Father  and  to  the  Son  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost.  Amen.* 
Shortly  after  he  roused  himself  again  and  said,  "  I  see 
myself  as  I  am";  and,  closing  his  eyes,  ''I  see  Jesus." 
He  soon  saw  Him  face  to  face.' 

"  His  aged  widow  and  four  sons  survive  him  and 
hold  his  memory  as  a  precious  heritage.  His  was  a 
notable  life,  of  humble  beginnings,  of  arduous  labors 
and  many  trials,  and  of  great  achievements.  His  was 
a  character  singularly  unselfish  and  pure,  of  strong  con- 
victions, ardent  piety,  of  rare  gifts  of  head  and  heart, 
and  all  consecrated  to  Christ  and  His  kingdom.  It  was 
given  him  to  live  in  a  wondrous  time,  to  see  great 
changes  in  the  moral  and  political  world,  and  to  be  asso- 
ciated throughout  his  missionary  career  with  such  men 
as  Goodell,  Dwight,  and  Hamlin — four  men,  who,  with 
their  associates,  called  out  this  remarkable  eulogium  of 
the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury  in  a  public  speech  in  London  : 

*  I  do  not  believe  that  in  the  whole  history  of  missions, 
I  do  not  believe  that  in  the  history  of  diplomacy,  or 
in  the  history  of  any  negotiations  carried  on  between 


238  Autobiography. 

man  and  man,  we  can  find  anything  to  equal  the  wis- 
dom, the  soundness,  and  the  pure  evangelical  truth  of 
the  body  of  men  who  constitute  the  American  mission 
in  Turkey.' 

"  His  rare  scholarship,  and  especially  his  translation 
of  the  Bible  into  Osmanli-Turkish,  called  forth  from 
the  University  of  Halle  and  Wittenberg  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Divinity,  and  from  Princeton  College  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Laws.  For  his  invaluable  services 
to  the  German  colony  of  Constantinople,  the  King  of 
Prussia,  the  present  German  Emperor,  sent  him  a  hand- 
some decoration ;  and  the  English  residents  expressed 
their  high  appreciation  of  the  abundant  labors  of  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Schauffler  for  their  spiritual  good,  by  the  pres- 
entation of  an  address  with  the  gift  of  a  valuable  clock 
to  him,  and  a  silver  tea-service  to  her.  But  best  of  all  are 
the  honors  promised  to  them  who  turn  many  to  right- 
eousness ;  that  crown  is  his,  fadeless  forever.  '  May 
the  mantle  of  this  beloved  man,  who  so  won  the  admi- 
ration, confidence,  and  affection  of  high  and  low,  of 
princes  and  beggars,  of  scholars  and  little  children,  rest 
upon  those  who  come  after  him.  And  especially  may 
they  who  follow  him  in  missionary  service  be  as  wise  as 
was  he  in  winning  souls  to  Christ.' 

"  We  are  privileged,  at  the  close  of  this  sketch  of  an 
eventful  life,  in  being  able  to  present  a  graphic  pen- 
picture  of  the  private  walks  and  ways  of  this  eminent 
servant  of  God,  kindly  furnished  by  his  son,  the  Rev. 
H.  A.  Schauffler : 

"  '  The  pleasing  picture  of  my  father  in  his  mission- 
ary home  on  the  Bosporus  lingers  in  the  memory  of 


As  Seen  by  Others.  239 

many  an  Oriental  and  Occidental  who  enjoyed  the  priv- 
ilege of  sitting  at  his  table,  of  listening  to  his  cheerful 
and  instructiv^e  conversation,  seasoned  with  pertinent 
anecdote  and  sanctified  by  his  all-pervading  piety,  of 
kneeling  at  that  family  altar  and  being  lifted  near  the 
throne  in  holy  familiarity.  Shall  we  attempt  to  give 
that  portrait  in  simplest  outline  ? 

*'  *  We  have  already  seen  him  as  a  missionary :  look 
at  him  now  in  the  family  circle,  a  devoted  husband, 
holding  his  wife  in  honor,  always  ready  to  share  her 
burdens,  to  aid  in  the  care  of  the  children,  or  to  put 
his  mechanical  skill  to  some  practical  household  use  ;  a 
wise,  firm,  affectionate,  sympathizing  father,  always  re- 
quiring prompt  obedience  and  strict  integrity,  but  ever 
seeking  to  gain  the  confidence  of  his  children,  treating 
them  as  friends  and  counselors,  and  watchful  to  give 
them  every  educational  advantage  he  can  command. 

*' '  Peep  at  him  in  his  small,  very  plainly  furnished 
study.  You  see  a  self-educated,  thorough  scholar,  of 
splendid  attainments,  fond  of  philosophy,  with  whose 
German  masters  he  is  especially  conversant ;  well  read 
in  history,  particularly  of  modern  times  ;  a  remarkable 
linguist,  able  to  speak  ten  languages  and  read  as  many 
more,  modestly  disclaiming  linguistic  talent,  but  advis- 
ing others  to  "  kill  one  language  with  another,"  /.  e.  to 
learn  a  new  language  by  the  aid  of  one  partially  ac- 
quired. In  this  little  room  that  man  of  God  has  prayed 
and  studied  over  every  word  and  letter  and  accent  of 
the  Hebrew  and  Greek  Scripture,  and  his  soul  has 
sometimes  been  well-nigh  in  agony,  as  he  has  labored 
to  turn  Paul's  inverted,  pregnant,  and  parenthetic  Greek 


240  Autobiography. 

into  intelligible  sentences  of  a  language  totally  different 
in  genius  and  construction.  He  used  to  say  that  a 
translator  of  the  Bible  needed  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
as  truly  as  the  original  writers. 

'' '  Now  his  day's  work  is  done,  and  you  find  him  in 
a  circle  of  friends.  In  conversation  he  has  but  few 
equals.  Not  witty,  he  possesses  such  an  exhaustless 
fund  of  interesting  information,  has  seen  and  experienced 
so  much,  and  is  so  ready  with  an  appropriate  anecdote, 
that  he  ever  finds  delighted  listeners.  He  can  adapt 
himself  to  any  one.  Whether  it  be  a  German  professor, 
fresh  from  the  study  of  Egyptian  hieroglyphics,  or  a 
learned  blue-stocking;  a  Jewish  Rabbi,  who  knows  only 
the  Talmud,  or  a  Turkish  scholar  versed  in  Arabic  and 
Persian  lore  ;  a  European  diplomat  discussing  the  East- 
ern question,  or  a  poor  Jewish  cobbler  whom  he  is  try- 
ing to  save  from  a  drunkard's  grave ;  Mr.  Gladstone 
conversing  with  him  about  the  Indian  mutiny,  or  a 
Turkish  porter  reading  the  new  version  of  the  Bible ; 
an  Austrian  archduchess  seeking  Christian  fellowship, 
or  a  group  of  merry  children  begging  for  a  story ; — he 
is  equally  ready  to  converse  with  all  to  purpose. 

" '  His  remarkable  musical  talent  contributes  greatly 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  family  and  of  friends  who 
gather  every  Tuesday  evening  in  the  old  house  to  lis- 
ten to  choice  music.  In  Andover  and  elsewhere  still 
linger  sweet  memories  of  his  marvelous  flute,  of  which 
instrument  he  was  perfect  master.  But  few  knew  that 
at  the  age  of  sixty-five,  when  compelled  to  confine  him- 
self less  closely  to  study,  he  took  up  his  son's  bass-viol 
and  learned  to  play  it  so  well  that  he  joined  other  in- 


As  Seen  by  Others.  241 

struments  in  performing  classical  music.  Propose  sing- 
ing, and  you  shall  see  with  what  enthusiasm  he  carries 
his  part,  singing  not  only  with  the  spirit  and  the  under- 
standing, but  with  his  whole  body  as  well. 

"  '  The  more  closely  you  observe  him,  the  more  clear- 
ly do  other  traits  appear;  his  great  conscientiousness, 
that  causes  him  to  lament  his  faults,  especially  his  occa- 
sional failure  to  control  his  temper,  which  in  youth  had 
been  violent  ;  his  self-denial  and  self-control,  which 
when  once  he  had  commenced  the  study,  to  him  so 
fascinating,  of  hieroglyphics,  made  him  exclaim,  "  Oh, 
William  Schauffler,  hitherto  you  have  never  studied 
anything  that  would  not  aid  you  in  your  great  work  of 
Bible  translation,  and  now  you  are  indulging  yourself. 
No,  that  shall  not  be !  "  and  hieroglyphics  remained 
hieroglyphics  to  him.  Nor  will  his  dauntless  faith  and 
genuine  courage  escape  your  observation.  There  is 
something  martial  about  him.  Some  one  once  re- 
marked that  he  looked  like  an  old  general  ;  and  true  it 
is  that  he  is  as  fond  of  using  illustrations  from  military 
life  as  was  the  apostle  Paul. 

"  '  You  would  not  be  with  him  long  without  noticing 
his  generosity,  his  heart  and  hand  always  open  to  the 
needy,  and  no  good  cause  ever  appealing  to  him  in 
vain.  How  he  can  give  so  much  from  his  slender 
salary  is  explicable  only  by  the  experience  of  the  old 
Scotchman  he  loved  to  quote,  who,  being  asked  how, 
having  so  little,  he  gave  away  so  much  and  yet  did 
not  exhaust  his  store,  replied,  "  I  keep  shoveling  over 
to  the  Lord,  and  He  keeps  shovehng  back  to  me,  and 
His  shovel  is  bigger  than  mine." 
II 


242  Autobiography. 

"■ '  Has  he  any  faults  ?  Yes,  and  it  would  not  be 
biblical  to  conceal  them,  or,  like  the  painter,  to  flat- 
teringly omit  every  blemish  from  our  portrait,  and  yet 
intimate  acquaintance  with  him  reveals  but  little  to 
mar  the  beauty  of  his  noble  character.  A  quick  tem- 
per, over  which  he  sometimes  fails  to  rule  ;  a  positive- 
ness  of  conviction  which  sometimes  asserts  itself  too 
vigorously  to  please  those  who  differ  with  him,  and  an 
inclination  to  trust  others  more  implicitly  than  is  always 
safe  ; — these  serve  to  show  that  the  subject  of  our  sketch 
was  human. 

"  '  Our  last  look  at  him  shall  be  as  he  appears  in  the 
pulpit.  He  is  animated,  but  perfectly  natural  in  manner, 
and  his  matter  is  eminently  biblical,  instructive,  and 
spiritual.  His  fine  imagination  enables  him  to  fascinate 
his  hearers  by  setting  forth  Bible  scenes  in  such  living 
colors,  that  you  involuntarily  start,  as  you  see  Abraham 
raise  his  knife  to  slay  his  son,  and  share  the  amazement 
of  the  spectators,  when  Lazarus  emerges  from  the  tomb. 
His  strong  love  of  righteousness  and  hatred  of  injus- 
tice lead  to  unsparing  denunciation  of  wrong ;  but 
anon  his  firm  faith  in  the  prevailing  power  of  God's 
truth,  and  his  ardent  love  for  Christ  and  souls,  enable 
him  to  rise  above  all  else  and  carry  his  hearers  with 
him,  as  he  tenderly  urges  the  necessity  of  conversion, 
pleads  with  them  to  yield  to  Christ,  and  eloquently  dis- 
courses of  the  triumph  and  glory  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom. 

'''Such,  in  meagre  outline,  is  the  man.  Nature  en- 
dowed him  with  a  vigorous  body ;  a  character  simple, 
honest,   and   grand ;    a   loving,    generous,    enthusiastic 


As  Seen  by  Others.  243 

heart ;  a  powerful,  symmetrical,  and  highly-gifted  mind  ; 
while  grace  sanctified,  developed,  strengthened,  and 
beautified  both  mind  and  heart :  until  out  of  the  obscure 
young  mechanic  of  Odessa  it  had  made  the  widely- 
known,  highly-honored,  and  ardently-loved  missionary 
of  the  cross  ;  the  translator  of  the  Bible  for  two  distinct 
peoples  ;  the  champion  of  religious  liberty  in  the  capital 
of  the  Mohammedan  empire ;  the  eloquent  preacher  of 
righteousness ;  the  trusted  friend  of  high  and  low ;  the 
spiritual  father  of  a  multitude  of  redeemed  souls  in 
three  continents.     To  God  be  all  the  glory ! '  " 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX. 


AN  EPISODE   OF   MISSIONARY   LIFE. 

The  life  of  every  missionary  presents  many  phases  of  work, 
the  details  of  which  do  not  always  reach  the  public  ear.  This 
was  peculiarly  the  case  with  Dr.  Schauffler,  by  reason  of  his 
many  European  as  well  as  American  relationships.  As  an  illus- 
tration of  this,  the  following  extract  from  his  diary  is  appended, 
which  illustrates  the  old  saying  that  "truth  is  stranger  than 
fiction." 

Among  the  German  colonists  who  moved  to  the  Cau- 
casus in  1817  under  the  influence  of  apocalyptic  ex- 
pectation, to  which  I  have  alluded  in  these  pages,  there 
has  remained  to  this  day,  a  seed  of  truly  godly  people. 
Even  after  the  period  above  mentioned,  other  smaller 
companies  of  colonists  followed,  under  the  same  im- 
pressions and  expectations. 

The  German,  or,  rather,  Wurtembergian  colonists  in 
the  Caucasus,  settled  in  villages  around  Tiflis,  and  being 
unwilling  to  receive  pastors  from  the  Protestant  uni- 
versities of  Germany,  as  these  were  all  infected  with 
Rationalism,  Tubingen  alone  excepted,  they  sent  to  the 
Basle  missionary  institution  for  help.  The  Basle  insti- 
tution having  been  organized  with  the  professed  object 
of  training  missionaries  for  heathen  and  Mussulman 
countries,  fortunately  thought  it  consistent  to  send 
pastors  to  these  people,  who  were  in  such  close  prox- 
imity to  Mohammedans  and  heathen. 

(247) 


248  APPENDIX. 

During  one  of  the  conflicts  between  Russia  and  Per- 
sia, the  Persians  appealed  to  the  Mohammedan  subjects 
of  Russia  to  come  to  their  help  against  their  infidel 
masters,  thus  endeavoring  to  raise  a  religious  war. 
Many  depredations  were  made  on  that  part  of  Russia 
bordering  upon  Persian  ground,  and  in  one  of  them 
the  German  colonies  were  attacked,  and  many  of  the 
defenceless  people,  men,  women,  and  children,  were 
carried  into  captivity  and  sold.  Many  children,  whose 
parents  had  fled  from  Anti-Christ,  fell  into  the  jaws  of 
the  False  Prophet. 

Among  the  colonists  was  a  young  family,  husband, 
wife,  and  two  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl.  One  day  the 
cry  was  heard,  "  The  enemy  is  comi?tg,  flee  who  can ! " 
And  as  they  took  their  children,  one  each,  to  flee,  they 
saw  the  "  Kizilbashes,"  or  irregular  Persian  soldiery, 
coming  up  the  village,  already  having  on  a  pole  the 
head  of  the  Russian  officer  resident  in  the  village. 
Some  escaped,  others  were  taken,  and  among  the  latter 
was  this  family,  the  father  with  the  girl  being  taken  by 
one  party,  the  mother  with  the  little  boy,  by  another. 

After  the  village  was  plundered,  the  march  into  the 
Persian  territory  began.  The  evening  came,  and  they 
stopped  over  night,  at  the  same  place.  But  they  knew 
that  in  the  morning  they  should  be  separated  ;  friends 
would  have  to  part,  to  see  one  another  no  more.  Among 
these  was  our  young  couple,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Meyer,  and 
their  children.  During  the  night,  Mr.  Meyer  sought  an 
interview  with  his  wife  ;  he  said  to  her,  "  I  shall  look  for 
an  opportunity  to  escape,  and  in  doing  so  I  shall  take 
the  child  with  me.  If  you  ever  hear  that  I  have  escaped, 
know  that  the  child  is  also  free,  for  I  shall  not  part  with 
her  dead  or  alive.     If  you  can  escape,  do  so,  but  do  not 


APPEJ^DIX.  249 

leave  the  boy  behind."  They  wept,  they  prayed,  they 
commended  each  other  to  God,  in  whom  they  had 
learned  to  trust ;  in  the  morning  they  were  separated. 

Mr.  Meyer  escaped  with  his  child,  and  safely  reached 
the  colonies.  Mrs.  Meyer  was  sold,  however,  from  point 
to  point,  until  she  was  brought  to  Constantinople  and 
became  the  property  of  a  man  who  was  a  renegade  from 
the  Armenian  Church  to  Islamism.  This  brought  her 
into  contact  with  me. 

I  hardly  had  time  to  settle  after  my  arrival  at  Con- 
stantinople (from  Odessa,  in  1833)  when  I  received  a 
letter  from  Tiflis,  begging  me  to  search  for  a  slave 
woman  named  Catharine  Meyer,  who,  together  with  her 
child  and  two  other  German  women,  was  the  slave" 
of  a  certain  Turk,  "  Mustapha  Hasseki,"  residing  in  Con- 
stantinople. I  resolved  to  undertake  the  hopeless  task 
of  searching  for  the  poor  captives,  feeling  that  the  Lord 
could  guide  me,  if  He  thought  best. 

Accompanied  by  a  young  Armenian,  who  of  course 
knew  Turkish  better  than  I,  and  by  a  Kavass,  or  armed 
guard,  from  the  Embassy,  I  started.  We  went  over 
into  the  city  of  Constantinople  proper,  where  no  foreign- 
ers were  allowed  to  live,  passed  through  the  Janissary 
quarter,  still  lying  in  ruins  and  ashes,  as  it  had  been 
left  by  the  massacre  of  1826.  The  streets  were  empty 
and  still  as  the  grave,  as  was  then  common  in  Turkish 
quarters.  The  first  man  we  saw  was  a  grocer  in  his 
store  ;  I  think  he  was  a  Greek.  He  looked  at  me  with 
apprehension  and  surprise,  but  the  presence  of  the 
Kavass  inspired  him  with  respect.  We  interrogated 
him,  "  Do  you  know  any  man  in  this  quarter  by  the 
name  of  Mustapha  Hasseki  ?  " 

He,  hesitatingly,  "  Yes." 


250  APPENDIX. 

"  Where  does  he  live  ?  " 

"  Right  here,  in  this  street,  the  third  door  on  your 
left." 

"  Has  he  slaves  ? " 

"Yes,  two  or  three  women." 

"  Is  there  a  child  there  belonging  to  one  of  the 
slaves  ?  " 

"  Yes,  though  for  some  time  I  have  not  seen  the  child." 

Thus  we  had  in  fact  proceeded  as  straight  to  the 
house  we  sought,  as  though  we  had  known  exactly  the 
street,  and  the  door,  and  the  nearest  way  to  it.  We 
knocked  at  the  door,  a  man-servant  opened  it  and  stared 
at  us  in  consternation,  but  we  pressed  the  door  open 
and  went  in. 

"  Is  your  master  at  home  ?  " 

"  Y— Y— Yes  !  !  " 

"  We  wish  to  see  him." 

He  rapped  upon  a  board,  thus  giving  notice  above, 
that  he  had  occasion  to  come  up  ;  soon  the  master  clap- 
ped his  hands,  and  the  servant  ascended.  After  awhile 
he  came  down  and  bowed  us  up  stairs.  We  entered  an 
old-fashioned  Turkish  room,  and  saw  an  elderly  man, 
sitting  in  a  corner  on  a  sofa,  with  a  little  boy  by  his 
side.  After  the  usual  salutation,  I  inquired  about  his 
Circassian  slave-women.  He  replied  that  they  were 
not  Circassians,  but  Germans.  I  told  him  I  knew  that, 
and  that  I  had  letters  from  their  friends  and  wished  to 
communicate  some  things  to  them.  He  then  said  he 
had  sold  one  to  a  friend  some  time  ago  ;  another  was 
not  far  away,  but  he  did  not  just  now  know  where  ;  the 
third  he  had  married — the  little  boy  was  her  son,  and 
we  could  not  see  her.  I  told  him  I  did  not  care  about 
seeing  her,  but  wished  to  speak  to  her,  while  she  might 


APPENDIX.  251 

remain  behind  the  curtain.  He  declined.  I  then  rose 
to  go,  telling  him  we  should  see  one  another  again.  This 
made  him  apprehensive,  and  he  consented  to  have  her 
called.  Soon  I  perceived  that  there  was  some  one  be- 
hind the  curtain.  I  took  my  place  on  the  other  side  of 
the  curtain,  and  interrogated  her  in  German,  somewhat 
as  follows  : 

"  Are  you ?  " 

"  Yes  !  " 

"  Is  it  true  that  you  are  this  man's  wife  ? " 

"Why,  yes,  he  took  me  !  " 

"  He  says  you  are  a  Mohammedan,  is  it  so  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes  ;  I  was  a  little  girl  when  they  took  me 
prisoner ;  they  told  me  to  say  some  words  and  I  said 
them  ;  then  they  said  I  was  now  a  Mohammedan." 

"  I  have  power  to  liberate  you,  and  send  you  home  to 
your  parents  and  friends  in  Caucasus,  if  you  will  pro- 
fess to  be  a  Christian." 

"  I  cannot  go,  I  have  a  child.     I  cannot." 

"  Have  you  a  Bible  or  New  Testament  to  read  ?  " 

"  No,  I  have  not  seen  one  for  seven  years  ;  I  only  have 
a  few  leaves  out  of  a  Catechism;  them  I  read  sometimes." 

I  addressed  a  few  words  of  solemn  admonition  to  her. 
She  cried  hard,  apparently,  but  insisted  she  could  not 
go,  she  had  a  child. 

My  errand  was  now  to  find  the  rest  of  the  women,  as 
soon  as  practicable.  This  was  not  difficult ;  for  Mustapha 
Hasseki  was  in  my  grasp.  We  went  off,  pretty  well 
tired  with  our  tour. 

I  omitted  to  say  that  before  entering  upon  this  search 
I  went  to  Mr.  Boutineff,  the  Russian  Ambassador,  and 
communicated  to  him  the  whole  affair.  He  was  a  very 
sweet,  benevolent  man,  and  his  lady,  a  Protestant,  a  very 


252  APPENDIX. 

tender,  sensible  person.  I  became  quite  intimate  in  the 
family  ;  subsequently  Mr.  Boutineff  rather  discouraged 
the  thing,  saying  that  by  treaty  he  could  claim  any 
prisoners  or  slaves  who  were  Russian  subjects  if  they 
professed  Christianity  :  but  if  they,  when  brought  be- 
fore the  Turkish  authorities  for  examination,  pro- 
fessed Islamism,  they  were  lost  to  him  forever.  He 
observed  that  such  cases  were  not  rare,  but  that  they 
generally  were  either  flattered  or  intimidated,  and  in- 
duced to  profess  Islamism.  He  would,  however,  order  his 
Dragoman  to  have  them  brought  before  him  for  exam- 
ination, and  if  I  wished,  I  could  be  present  at  the  Sub- 
lime Porte  when  they  were  examined.  I  was  put  in 
connection  with  one  of  the  Dragomans  of  the  Russian 
Embassy.  But  the  thing  lasted  longer  than  I  had  cal- 
culated, for  before  the  slaves  could  be  examined,  in  the 
slow  way  of  old-fashioned  Turkey,  the  month  of  Rama- 
zan*  began,  and  then  nothing  could  be  done. 

At  last  the  month  passed  ;  my  repeated  application  to 
the  Russian  Ambassador  met  with  a  courteous  response, 
and  finally,  on  a  dreadfully  hot  day,  I  went  with  the 
Russian  Dragoman  to  the  Sublime  Porte,  and  there,  in 
one  of  the  great  saloons,  I  saw  three  Turkish  women, 
who  were  pointed  out  to  me  as  the  persons  I  wanted 
to  see.  I  addressed  them.  Catharine  Meyer  answered 
readily  and  said  :  "  I  am  a  Christian  and  shall  go  with 

*  This  month  constitutes  an  annual  fast,  during  which  no 
good  Mohammedan  may  eat  or  drink  or  smoke,  nor  even  so  much 
as  swallow  his  saliva,  from  sunrise  to  sunset.  Among  the  higher 
classes  the  days  are  spent  in  sleep  and  rest,  the  nights  in  feast- 
ing and  carnivals.  But  among  the  poor  and  laboring  classes 
this  religious  observance,  which  is  most  rigidly  adhered  to, 
causes  much  suffering. 


APPENDIX.  253 

you."  The  one  I  had  already  conversed  with,  cried 
again,  but  repeated  that  she  had  a  child,  and  could  not 
go.  The  third  answered  in  Turkish,  "that  she  was  a 
Mussulman  and  would  not  go  back."  I  told  them  that 
if  they  professed  Christianity  I  had  power  to  take  them 
with  me  right  out  of  the  Sublime  Porte  to  my  house, 
and  should  send  them  home  to  their  relatives,  but  that 
if  they  professed  Islamism  before  the  Pasha,  before 
whom  they  would  now  be  brought,  they  would  be  lost  to 
me,  and  no  one  would  be  able  to  claim  them.  All  three 
repeated  what  they  had  already  said. 

The  Dragoman  and  I  went  in  to  the  Pasha,  where 
after  the  usual  old-fashioned,  lengthy  Turkish  civil- 
ities, coffee  and  pipes  were  brought.  (This  is  a  court 
of  justice.)  Soon  the  three  women  were  called  in  and 
stood  at  the  door.  To  my  surprise,  Mustapha  Has- 
seki  was  also  brought  in,  looking  quite  frightened,  and 
keeping  a  very  humble,  distant  attitude.  I  begged  per- 
mission to  speak  to  them  once  more.  I  walked  over  to 
them,  and  repeated  what  I  had  said  before. 

The  Pasha  then  examined  them.  They  replied  as  before. 
The  moment  seemed  to  me  like  the  last  judgment. 
Catharine  Meyer  was  told  by  the  Pasha  she  could  go 
with  me.  The  two  others  returned  to  their  Moham- 
medan homes. 

Mrs.  Meyer  and  I  rowed  up  the  Bosporus  in  the  dread- 
ful midday  heat  to  our  house.  We  arrived  after  dinner 
had  been  finished.  I  was  hungry  and  tired.  "  Come, 
Mrs.  Meyer,"  I  said,  "let  us  have  something  to  eat." 

"  Have  you  no  German  Bible  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  I  replied. 

"  Do  please  let  me  have  it  ;  I  don't  want  to  eat.  I 
have  not  seen  a  Bible  for  seven   years,"  she  said.     I 


254  APPENDIX. 

handed  her  my  own,  and  she  sat  down  on  the  sill  of  the 
hall  and  read — I  do  not  know  how  long,  until  her  soul 
seemed  to  be  refreshed  thoroughly  ;  and  then  at  last 
she  arose,  and  asked  for  food. 

Just  at  that  time  I  fell  in  with  a  Georgian  merchant — I 
mean  Georgia  in  the  Caucasus — who  was  charged  by 
Mr.  Meyer  to  make  search  for  his  wife  and  to  ransom 
her  and  bring  her  home,  and  Mr.  Meyer  would  meet  all 
the  expenses.  The  man  was  exceedingly  gentlemanly 
and  appeared  to  take  a  serious  interest  in  the  case.  He 
said  he  knew  Mr.  Meyer  very  well,  and  being  on  busi- 
ness at  Constantinople,  Mr,  Meyer  wished  him  to  make 
one  more  effort,  hopeless  as  it  was,  to  find  his  wife, 
about  whom  he  knew  not  whether  she  were  dead  or 
alive.  The  merchant  had  made  efforts,  had  done  so 
during  previous  visits  to  Constantinople,  but  all  in  vain. 
Meantime  Mrs.  Meyer  had  been  set  free,  and  our  friend 
from  Georgia  most  gladly  engaged  to  take  her  home,  for 
which,  however,  she  had  to  wait  several  weeks.  I  also 
took  her  up  to  Buyukdere,  to  the  Russian  Ambassador, 
who  was  highly  gratified  at  the  result  of  our  efforts, 
and  gave  her  a  liberal  present  in  money  to  help  her  on 
her  journey. 

In  due  time  she  completed  her  journey  and  rejoined 
her  husband.  The  husband  was  overjoyed  and  all  the 
village  cried  out,  as  when  after  ten  years  Naomi  re- 
turned to  Bethlehem-Ephratah  from  the  land  of  Moab. 

This  rescue  of  Mrs.  Meyer  is  an  episode  of  my  early 
missionary  life,  and  is,  perhaps,  worth  telling,  as  illus- 
trating the  wretched  condition  of  Turkey  at  that  time. 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

"  Abbott  Resident  " 54 

Absent-minded  bridegroom ^4 

Address  at  tlie  grave  of  his  two  children io6 

Alber's  remarkable  conversion 97 

A  lonely  journey ^^4 

Andover,  Visit  to,  1857 228 

A  spot  on  the  knee— is  it  plague  ? 1 17 

Audience  with  the  Emperor  of  Austria 172 

Beginning  the  Turkish  Work 217 

Bible  in  Hebrew-Spanish 128 

Birth  of  Alfred  Theodore I95 

"       "  Edward  William H2 

"  Henry  Albert ^21 

"  James  Merrick ^02 

"       "  William  Samuel 9^ 

Brother  Gottlob's  conversion 26 

Close  of  Crimean  War 218 

Constantinople  to  Odessa,  1839 136 

Conversion ^3 

Danube  fever ^79 

Death  of  Mr.  Maynard 201 

"       "  Mrs.  Dwight ^  '^ 

"       "  two  children ^°4>  1^5 

Decides  to  be  a  missionary i^  ^• 

Diary  in  Paris,  1832 5^ 

Division  of  the  "  Kirk  "  of  Scotland 184 

Difficulty  about  leaving  Russia 23 

(255) 


256  Index. 


PAGE 


Early  life 2 

Engagement 81 

Establishment  of  Mission  in  Salonica 198 

Extract,  "  American  Heroes  on  Mission  Fields  " 234  ff. 

Farewell  Meeting,  New  York,  1858 229 

Stuttgart,  1 841 157 

Fears  of  expulsion  from  Turkey 134,  135 

"  Find  my  wife,  and  convert  her  " 107 

First  address  in  English 50 

Fulton  St.  Prayer-meeting 230 

Gale  off  Monte  Santo 200 

Gallneu-Kirchen 159 

German  Service  begun 91 

Gladstone,  Call  on  Mr 225 

Goes  to  America 32 

"      "  Andover 40 

Haydn  Celebration 145 

Hebrew  and  Hebrew-Spanish  Bible  Lexicon 94 

In  the  "  lion's  den  " 143 

"  It  shall  be  given  you  what  ye  shall  speak  " 213 

Jewish  work  abandoned 203 

Keeping  the  Sabbath 65,  67 

Languages  mastered 21,  47,  48 

Labors  in  South  Russia,  1832 71 

Learning  the  trade 3 

Leaving  Andover 57 

"         home 29 

Life  at  Andover 44 

Lindl,  Ignatius,  his  spiritual  father 11 

Lockhardt  Society 42 

Maria  Dorothea 154,  163,  170,  178 


Index.  257 


PAGE 


Marriage 84 

Meeting  with  Henry  and  Edward 222 

Meetings  broken  up 166 

Miss  Mary  Reynolds ']^ 

Miss  Reynolds's  letter  unopened 82 

Missionary  tour  in  South  Russia,  1839 139 

Move  to  San  Stefano,  1837 no 

Mrs.  Koeppen's  conversion 149 

Mrs.  Schauffler's  critical  state 89 

Music  in  youth 6 

Music  sacrificed 14 

Narrow  escape  from  drowning 94 

Newburyport,  visit  to,  1857 228 

Odessa  to  Constantinople,  1832 73 

Odessa  to  Constantinople,  1836 107 

Odessa  to  Vienna,  1839 141 

Odessa,  visit  to,  1 836 94 

"  One  Dollar  " 37 

Ordination 55 

Parentage i 

Paris  Meeting  of  Evangelical  Alliance 205 

Paris  to  Stuttgart,  1832 61 

Persecution  in  Vienna 166 

Persecution  of  Armenians 130,  181 

Pesth,  visits,  1841  and  1842 163,  177 

Plague 108 

Plague  in  the  house 115 

Plague  in  San  Stefano 113 

Plans  for  Missionary  work 52 

Religious  toleration  in  Turkey 183 

Resolves  to  enter  Theological  Seminary 41 

Report  of  Evangelical  Alliance  meeting 206 

Rescue  of  Mrs.  Meyer  from  a  Harem 247  ff. 

Return  to  Odessa,  1832 70 


258  Index. 


PAGE 


Revival  in  Odessa,  1 836 97 

Revivals  in  America 46,  49 

Revivals  under  Lindl 15 

"  Roast  Potatoes  and  Butter  " 84 

Scotch  Mission  established 194 

Selling  his  flute 43 

Smyrna,  visit  to ']'] 

Separatists 7 

Settling  in  Constantinople 'j6 

Sir  Stratford  Canning 181,  187 

Slaughter  of  Janissaries 33 

Studies  in  Paris 57 

Stuttgart  to  Odessa,  1832 63 

Summer  in  San  Stefano,  1834 89 

Supplies  pulpit  of  Park  St.  Church 54 

Teaches  Hebrew  in  Seminary 55 

Theresa  as  plague  nurse 1 14  ff. 

Theresa's  conversion ., 112 

Theresa  found , 1 1 1 

Tour  in  Roumelia 86 

Turkish  Bible,  Translation  of 219 

"  United  States,"  frigate,  in  a  gale Z^ 

Vienna  to  Constantinople,  1842 178 

Vienna  to  Stuttgart,  1841 155 

Visit  to  America,  1857 221 

Visit  to  Andover,  1857 227 

Visit  to  Newburyport,  1857 228 

Visit  to  Odessa,  1 836 94 

Visit  to  Pesth,  1841 163 

"      "       "       1842 , 177 

Visit  to  the  Princess  Olga  211 

Visit  to  Smyrna ']^ 

Voyage  to  America 34 

Wheelwright,  "  princely  gift "  of  Mr 232 

Wolff,  Joseph,  plans 25 

Work  of  the  Spirit  in  Vienna 164 


w 


DATE  DUE 


'— -n 


\^^^Jigmm\ 


^mss^W. 


WA 


■^^ 


PRINTEDINU.S.A. 


